


Red Freesias

by Sametoyou



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Actors, Alternate Universe - College/University, Coming Out, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-05
Updated: 2015-09-11
Packaged: 2018-04-13 04:37:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 52,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4508067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sametoyou/pseuds/Sametoyou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It takes Louis 4329 days to have that spot in his heart longing for someone to be by his side to be filled, and Harry Styles is the one that helps him in that.</p><p>Louis is a famous stage actor that is falling deeply for his new stylist Harry. Zayn's an artist, but to Liam he's the Greek god of beauty, and Niall seems to be making songs out of this all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Freesias are bell-shaped flowers and how did these flowers inspire me to write this is something that baffles me too.
> 
> I don't even know how did I start writing this and how what was supposed to be a work that won't pass 20k words turned into a huge mess over 50k words. I wrote this while keeping in mind that it will be a oneshot yet it turned out much longer so I've divided it into nine chapters and that's why you might feel as if the chapters end or start abruptly. Sorry for that.
> 
> As always, this is a work of fiction and all characters are portrayed in my own way.

Out of all the ways Louis had expected to be woken up this morning, waking up to the cries of Liam was definitely not one of them.

"Liam? You alright, mate?" Louis rubs his eyes as he sits up in bed, looking at Liam who's curled up next to him, holding onto a pillow, and crying his eyes out.

Liam continues crying and frankly Louis's now starting to get more concerned. He rubs Liam's arm gently and Liam sniffles, "It's Eddie."

Louis' eyes soften at that and he squeezes his arms gently. Of course it's Eddie. Liam got Eddie a year ago when he was just a new born puppy and that dog means everything to him.

"What is it? Did he go back to drinking toilet water?" Louis teases and Liam sobs louder.

"It's worse!" Liam finally sits up, his eyes wide and puffed up red, "He didn't finish his food today!"

"He doesn't finish his food all the time—"

"Never in the morning! He always finishes his food in the morning!" Liam interrupts and Louis groans loudly, pushing Liam away.

"Did you really come here crying because Eddie didn't finish his food?" Louis grabs his pillow and throws it right at him.

"I should have told Zayn," Liam huffs out as he gets up, "Anyway, get up. Zayn brought you breakfast."

Louis throws one more pillow at him, "That's what you get for waking me up way too early."

"Throw one more pillow at me and I'm not coming to the premiere today." Liam threatens, putting his arm around Louis, pulling him out of his bed.

"Who said I want you there?" Louis retorts, but he's not convincing at all with the way he's leaning into Liam's touch.

"Zayn, Louis is being very—" Liam freezes in his spot the moment they step into the kitchen and his eyes land on Zayn. Zayn's got his hair all pushed up into a neat quiff, his hazel eyes shining brightly, and a smile spread across his face as he takes a sip of his tea. He's beautiful, that's what Zayn is. Perfect in every single way.

"He's a fucking Greek god." Liam mutters quietly to himself but Louis hears it anyway. Louis knows that Liam has a crush on Zayn since the day Zayn introduced Liam to him. He could tell with the way Liam looked at Zayn with so much adoration in his eyes.

"Good morning." Louis laughs, leaving Liam frozen in his spot admiring Zayn.

"Slept well? Big day today." Zayn says as he hands him his mug.

Louis takes a sip from his tea and a smile spreads across his face, satisfied with his tea, "You're coming tonight, right?"

"Of course. Liam you're coming— is everything alright?" Louis bursts into laugher as a blush forms across Liam's face when Zayn notices the way he had been staring at him.

"N—Nothing's wrong. I was just... standing." Louis laughs louder and Liam groans, "Shut up, Lou."

Zayn looks between them both and Louis shakes his head, "I don't understand you, Zayn. It's so obvious."

"What's obvious?" Zayn asks, and Liam smacks Louis immediately when he opens his mouth, ready to reveal Liam's secret.

"That I'm bothered because Eddie didn't eat this morning." Liam hastily replies, as he claps his hand over Louis’ mouth, and Louis scrunches up his nose.

Zayn sighs, "You two are acting strange."

"When isn't Liam acting strange?" Louis pushes Liam's hands away and Liam frowns slightly.

Zayn places Louis' breakfast on the table and ruffles Louis' hair softly but Louis pushes his hand away, "What's wrong with Eddie?"

Louis doesn't pay attention to Liam as he explains everything all over again to Zayn who's listening to him intently. Louis instead eats his breakfast quietly, staring at the two and focusing on Zayn's expression. It's around the time Liam is whining — _but Eddie never does that in the morning! I'm scared, what if something is wrong—_ Zayn's features soften. He smiles gently and puts his hand on top of Liam's shoulder, instantly shushing him.

"Liam, has he done anything else differently?" Zayn asks and Liam blinks twice before finally seeming to realise that Zayn had just asked him a question.

"No, not really."

Zayn rubs his shoulder, "Then don't you think Eddie is alright? If he does something unexpected, then you can tell me straightaway. But I don't think there is something wrong with Eddie right now."

Liam remains quiet, either to let Zayn's words sink in or just to continue admiring Zayn's cheekbones. Louis is certain it's the latter.

Louis decides he's been quiet long enough, "They say dogs can feel their owner's true feelings. So if you're upset or happy, Eddie can sense it."

"And?" Liam urges and Louis grins, while Zayn shakes his head slightly already knowing where this is going.

"Eddie is sensing that there is something you're constantly thinking about. You know, something bothering you for a while." Liam raises a brow, perplexed by Louis.

"What is it?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's something like having a crush and that crush being your—" Liam throws a rolled up tissue at him and Louis laughs loudly while Zayn sighs, muttering how he would love it if for once they start their day differently.

Even though Louis enjoys teasing him and wouldn't miss a chance to mention Liam's crush at any time possible, he still loves Liam very much, and so does Liam. And this sort of silly banters they have and them constantly annoying the other the first thing in the morning is comforting to Louis in some sort of way. It always leaves him with a sense of comfort knowing he has these two to always lean on and always there for him.

Because even now when they're no longer living with each other, Zayn still comes by every morning to Louis' with breakfast saying _I know you're shit at cooking, Lou_. When Zayn was eighteen and had told Louis he's planning on moving to London for uni, Louis had immediately started a search for a flat for them to share. They lived there together up until last summer when they both decided to live by their own.

Now Zayn's living in his own flat, finally having his own studio he'd been always desiring to have. It's full of his art utensils and always smelling of paint, pastel, and it's Zayn's ideal place to be when he needs some time to himself.

The rest of the day passes by quickly and evening arrives much too soon for Louis' likings. He's nervous, and keeps on tapping his hands and feet. Eventually he gets up for a smoke, an old habit he's picked up from Zayn that has helped him every single time he has found himself to be in this situation.

~~

"So how does it feel knowing you won't get your hair styled by the gorgeous-talented-Louise?" Louis looks up from his phone at Lou as she approaches him and he chuckles slightly.

"Quite a relief, actually. I didn't like what you did. It was always so horrible."

"You'll miss me." She lifts her head when her name is called and she sighs, "I need to fix Eleanor's hair. Anyway, I just bumped into your new stylist, Harry?" she continues when Louis nods his head, "He's very nice. Let me know how he is."

"I already know he's going to be much better than you." Louis singsongs and Lou rolls her eyes as she leaves. He checks his phone to see Liam's message that he chose to ignore couple of minutes ago with the mere purpose of annoying him.

" _The lady behind us keeps on talking about you and el , she wants you twoo to kiss. arent you two playing as cousins in heree ???_ "

He gets another message:

" _Never mind bc being his amazing self zayn told me that you are cousins . youre no help louis unlike zayn hes soo wonderful :)_ "

Louis quickly types in his reply:

" _Im going to tell Zayn about your crush really sooon !! :)_ "

" _LOUIS TOMLINSON YOU WOULDNT_ "

He's just ready to type in his response when he hears a deep, raspy voice asking for him and there is something about that voice. Something that makes it so warm and kind, giving him these tingly feelings in his heart, like when he used to, and still does, whenever his mum makes some tea and cookies while they sit next to the fireplace during Christmas.

And Louis has to know who this beautiful voice belongs to. He's just compared this person to Christmas and Louis's very fond of that holiday, and it may or may not be due to the fact it's a day after his birthday.

When he looks up from his phone his breathing hitches because there right in front of him is the most beautiful boy he's ever seen.

He's tall and lanky, yet curvy. He's got warm, kind emerald eyes, shining so brightly. He's got a mess of chocolate brown curls over his head, all pushed back by his olive headscarf. He's offering a smile and his lips are so pink. Pinkest and loveliest lips Louis has ever seen. And his milky skin looks so smooth and pretty, and Louis somehow is finding himself tempted to leave little marks all over his neck, and he really shouldn't be having these thoughts considering the fact the boy is just a stranger.

To prevent himself from having these thoughts, Louis looks down at his phone when it buzzes, probably getting another message from Liam, but his eyes somehow seem to betray him because now he's staring at the boy's sinful legs. He's wearing the tightest black jeans and it's sticking to his body in the most perfect ways. He immediately looks up again and decides to speak to prevent himself from staring any longer.

"Hi." Louis smiles and the boy seems to be in shock. His lips are parted but he remains quiet, his eyes wide open, looking in wonder at Louis.

Louis tilts his head to the side which seems to snap the boy out of his thoughts and immediately looks down, a slight blush spreading across his cheeks, "Oops."

And of course. The most beautiful raspy voice belongs to the most beautiful boy; it's a perfect match.

"You okay there?" Louis teases and the boy looks up again, his cheeks a slight tint of pink and as much as Louis wants to tease him about that, he somehow forces himself to stay quiet.

"Yeah, it's just that you're Louis Tomlinson and I'm standing in front of you and you look so different standing so close," his eyes widen at that when Louis raises his brows, "Not in a bad way! I promise. It's in a good way. You look much more beautiful. I mean stunning. No. Perfect. No. I mean stunning. Yeah stunning."

"Final choice?" Louis grins when the boy looks down, a bashful grin making its way across his face.

"I'm so sorry." Louis laughs at that and the boy looks up at him.

"It's fine," Louis pauses, "I'm Louis Tomlinson."

"I know. You're like the most talented and famous stage actor!" The boy speaks with so much sincerity and excitement it warms Louis' heart. It's something to do with the way he speaks. How the words come out so slowly and how he gives Louis his entire attention.

"This is the part where you're supposed to introduce yourself." Louis says and the boy stands up right, his smile still visible.

"I'm Harry Styles, your new hair stylist." Harry introduces himself and it's only then Louis notices the bag Harry's holding that's much similar to Lou's where she keeps all of her needed things.

Louis chuckles softly, "Harry Styles the hair stylist."

Harry grins, "I know. Perfect name for a hair stylist."

"You might have the perfect name, but can I trust you with my hair?" Harry smiles wider and Louis feels like crying now because fuck, Harry has dimples and Louis doesn't know if he just wants to poke them or kiss them, or do both.

"For this relationship between us to work, we both must trust each other." Harry explains and Louis leans back in his chair and raises a brow.

"This relationship? What relationship is that?" Louis asks, trying to seem as nonchalant as possible and Harry smirks.

"Any that we will have. We might be friends. Or it could go beyond that." Harry continues and Louis must admit that Harry has his way with words and is really charming, and he definitely knows it. He definitely knows that he's capable of gaining anyone's attention and making them fall heads over heels for him.

"Beyond that? What might you be implying?" Louis continues and he really shouldn't. He really shouldn't be flirting with Harry, but here he is doing the complete opposite. What harm can it cause though? It's just some harmless flirting and nothing else, Louis convinces himself.

"You know, best friends and all of that." It shouldn't be funny, it really shouldn't, but Louis finds himself laughing and Harry shoots him a grin, pleased and looking so happy almost as if he's just won the lottery.

"You're awful, really awful. I shouldn't trust you." Louis says once he's calmed down.

"But you must." Harry pouts at that, he literally pouts, and Louis shouldn't find it endearing but he is. He looks so adorable. A young boy trapped in an adult's body, that's Harry.

"Fine, I do trust you. I'll let you do whatever you want to do to my hair." Louis' phone buzzes again, and he sees he's got another text from Liam, but he ignores it again.

Harry looks baffled and then a small smile spreads, "You trust me?"

Louis nods his head and Harry grins. That's when Louis feels his heart thumping and he quickly looks down at his phone.

He's got a crush. Bravo Louis Tomlinson, he thinks to himself and mentally kicks himself.

"Hurry up. We don't have all day."

It's quite pointless by now for Louis to continue staring at his phone idly and pretend to be using it. He's been far more interested in Harry's tattoos. He's got the sleeves of his maroon jumper pushed up and Louis can see the inked drawings on his left arm. There are small ones scattered just above his wrist and he's been dying to find out what's the one that's just peeking underneath his sleeve.

He stares at Harry's face instead and admires the way he looks when he's concentrated. He's got his tongue out just a tiny bit between his lips, and his eyes are so, so focused on Louis' hair as he continues doing whatever he's doing that Louis really should concentrate more on but doesn't find himself willing to do that; he's satisfied with starting at Harry.

And Louis doesn't know what exactly it is, but there's something familiar in Harry. He's certain he has seen these wild curls and green eyes before, but he's also sure that he has never met Harry before. Harry is the most beautiful person Louis has ever seen and if he had met Harry before he's sure he wouldn't be forgetting meeting him.

Harry leans forward, dropping something on the table, and Louis takes this chance to run his hand against his sides, tickling him. It catches Harry at a surprise and he stumbles forward, nearly falling over at top of Louis. Louis, however, quickly catches him by his waist, and their faces are so close. Louis can see it here clearly how green his eyes are and how his pink puffy lips look so sinful and ready to be kissed, and he finds himself wondering again how would it feel like to have his lips against Harry's.

He squeezes his hands tightly against his waist, "You've got long legs but you don't know how to use them properly, Bambi."

"I know how to use them, it's just that you surprised me." Harry argues and neither of them move.

"You have plenty of tattoos, I've noticed." Louis says, his hands still resting against Harry's waist, and his jumper has slightly risen but Louis has enough self-control to stop himself from reaching there and placing his hands against his skin.

"I've got a butterfly one that you have to see one day." Harry replies quietly.

"And where is it?" Louis asks and he's met with a familiar smirk.

"Under my shirt."

"So that would require _someone_ to remove your shirt during that day." Louis says quietly, staring at Harry, and finding it unbelievable that Harry is real.

"Yes. And since I _really_ want _you_ to see it, _you_ could be the one." Harry's eyes widen when Louis leans forward, his lips so close to his ears.

"Maybe," Louis pauses, "You're quite comfortable in this position?" Louis whispers and Harry finally makes himself stand straight again.

"I was," Harry whispers and Louis parts his mouth, ready to reply, but Harry beats him to it, "I'm done. Turn around and see what I've done to your hair."

Louis complies, turning around, and smiles when he's met with his reflection. His soft feathered hair has been pushed to a side fringe. It's neat and yet still seeming a little bit messy and Louis loves it.

"I guess it's acceptable." Louis says and doesn't miss seeing the pout on Harry's face.

"Heyyy, it's more than that. It suits you so well." Louis stands up and when he turns around, he realises that Harry is much taller than him. Somehow the thoughts of how he would have to be on his tippy toes to kiss him happen to be his very first thoughts.

Harry smirks, clearly seeming to be thinking about the same thing and it snaps Louis out of his thoughts, and he coughs, "Yeah, it's fine."

"You're older than me and yet you're much shorter than what I imagined." Louis crosses his arms and huffs.

"I'm not short, you're an overgrown giant," that sends Harry into a giggle fit and Louis feels his stomach flipping at Harry's adorableness, "Anyway, how old are you?"

"Nineteen," Harry answers, "But I'm turning twenty in couple of weeks."

"Louis! Come over here!" Louis turns around when he hears the familiar voice of the director. He nods his head at him and looks back at Harry.

"Well, 'nineteen soon to be twenty' Harry," Harry giggles again, "The director is calling so I have to go."

"Good luck, tiny Lou." Harry laughs when Louis straightaway turns around, ignoring him, and yet he feels all warm in the inside because of Harry. His laugh is warm and his eyes were glowing, almost like how the stars shine and glow during the night. The stars, they're beautiful. But Harry, he's even more beautiful. He's much more beautiful than the moon, sun, and all the stars.

Louis doesn't think about Harry later. Not when he's onstage, in front of a large audience that screams and claps as loudly as possible the moment he steps on stage. He loves this; he loves his job. He loves the thrill he gets when he's onstage, knowing any mistakes done will be noticed by many and can't be undone and yet here is standing proudly on stage. He could trip over a stage prop and fall straight onto his face and everyone will see, yet he's still here and he’s quite proud of himself for that.

It's only later when he goes backstage to get ready for his next scene and Harry fixes his hair quickly whispering, " _you did great, Lou_ " that Louis starts thinking about Harry all over again.

Eleanor and some others are onstage now and he's supposed to be joining them after a few minutes. Eleanor his "ex-girlfriend" is acting by his side in this play, which had created a huge buzz. He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose when the memories start flooding back of how all of this started.

When he had been seventeen, Louis met a lovely girl named Hannah and the two started dating not much later. They got along very well. She had a great sense of humour, both enjoyed footie, both understood each other really well, and she was the perfect girlfriend he could ever ask for. Except that he wasn't really attracted to her and it took him a year to figure it out.

When he had been eighteen, he visited the judges of The X Factor before the show had started and it was all fun until he had gone backstage. He met couple of the contestants and then saw Niall Horan, the one particular contestant that the judges kept on mentioning his name. Louis had planned on meeting him but what he saw had him frozen in his place. Next to Niall was a head of messy curls and beautiful green eyes. He didn't really get to see his face properly but there was something about that boy that made Louis start doubting his sexuality at that precise moment. He had gone home later and spent the night explaining everything to Zayn as he cried and Zayn had comforted him and told him that he will definitely get his answer one day and when he does he'll still be here for him.

And Hannah, when he had finished explaining everything to her the next day, was just as understanding. She had smiled and told Louis she had seen it coming.

And that was a problem. The media started releasing rumours and gossips regarding Louis' sexuality after he and Hannah broke up. That was when his manager proposed the idea of Louis getting a fake girlfriend. Louis had been against the idea and yet somehow the decision was made with his manager and Eleanor's saying that it will only increase their popularity, more specifically Eleanor's. They had been "dating" for almost three years up until couple of months ago.

Louis sighs as he hears Eleanor saying her lines. He closes his eyes for a few moments and decides to talk to Zayn about this later.

Later turns out to be three in the morning. Louis has been turning around in bed, kicking his comforter to the floor, and then curling up in bed to warm himself, too lazy to get up and get the comforter. After getting only brief moments of sleep, he gets up and calls Zayn.

Zayn picks up after couple of rings, "Hey Zayn."

"Louis, it's three in the morning." Zayn answers, but his voice is as clear as ever, with no hint of sleep in it.

"Don't make it seem as if I woke you up. I know how you get inspired in the middle of the night." Louis confronts him and Zayn sighs in defeat.

"I'll be over in a little bit."

When Zayn arrives, he's smelling like paint, with a smudge of red paint on his face. Louis grins pointing it out, and Zayn threatens to leave if Louis doesn't make him tea. He knows Zayn isn't serious but he still makes them both tea while Zayn washes his face.

They're both curled up next to each other on the sofa now, holding their mugs closely, and sitting in a comfortable silence.

"I don't understand how you drink jasmine tea, it's _horrible_." Louis says and Zayn nudges him by his elbow.

"I'm sure you didn't call me to come over to talk about my preference for tea." Zayn states and Louis smiles softly.

"After four years, I think I have an answer." Louis speaks quietly as Zayn places his mug down, seeming to know where this is going.

He wraps his arm around Louis and Louis easily complies when Zayn pulls him in for a hug. He wraps his arms around Zayn, hiding his face against his neck, and whispers, "Zayn, I'm gay."

Zayn continues holding him close, rubbing his back gently, "And there is nothing wrong with that."

Louis feels his eyes watering at Zayn's words and sniffles quietly. He closes his eyes, inhaling Zayn's scent of his cologne, paint, smoke, and it's all very familiar, straightaway calming Louis down. He smiles when Zayn ruffles his hair softly and moves back to face him. Zayn's smiling at him and pushes the strands of hair that had fallen on Louis' face, as Louis rubs his eyes.

"Thanks." He mumbles quietly.

"There is something you need to tell me though," Zayn pauses and Louis nods his head, urging him to continue, "What happened today?"

"I met someone today. He's actually my hairstylist," Louis pauses for a second, "And there is something about him, Zayn. He has this long beautiful messy curly hair. And his eyes, they're just so pretty. They're so green and glowing. His lips are so pink and his face is pasty. He's so tall and he's kind of lanky. And when he talks, he talks very slowly and he talks with his hands. And his voice is so deep but like so warm. He's charming and he's probably the most adorable person I've seen. He was actually pouting, who does that and still manage to look cute? I still can't believe he's real."

Louis doesn't even realise he's been rambling until he notices Zayn's soft smile, "Shut up, Zayn."

"I didn't say a word."

"I know you wanted to." Louis mumbles.

"So I'm guessing you like him?" Zayn says and wraps his arm around Louis' shoulder pulling him closer, "The way you described him, though, is the same as the way you described the guy you saw four years ago."

“And?" Louis asks, looking at Zayn.

"That it could be the same person?" Louis opens his mouth, ready to argue, but Zayn quickly interrupts, "You told me before that your manager said that Niall is the one that recommended your new stylist, right? And four years ago you saw that boy with Niall. There is that probability that it could be him."

Louis remains quiet, Zayn's words sinking in, and he realises that Zayn does have a point. Niall was the one who recommended Harry and four years ago he did spot that boy next to Niall.

"I hate you, Zayn," Zayn chuckles quietly and Louis sighs, "Now I really want him to be the same person."

"Even if he isn't, don't let that ruin anything." Zayn says as Louis nods his head.

"Zayn?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you know that Liam has a crush on you?"

Zayn responds by hitting Louis by a cushion, telling him to stop fooling around, and Louis laughs because it's the truth that Zayn doesn't seem to be realising.

~~

The only way to know if Harry is indeed the boy Louis spotted four years ago is to either ask him or Niall. So that's how Louis has found himself clutching his phone tightly, pretending to be using it, as Harry starts styling Louis' hair couple of days later.

Eventually he puts it down and looks up at Harry, "When did you and Niall meet?"

Harry hums quietly and is smiling again, "I met Niall around four years ago. I was working in this bakery and he used to come in frequently. One day he came around the time my shift ended and we sat together. He used to come in every time with his guitar so I asked him about that and he told me he had auditioned for The X Factor and is practicing most of his free time."

Louis bites his bottom lip, feeling a lump in his throat, and decides to finally ask Harry, "Did you ever go with him?"

"You mean like when he had to perform?" Harry asks and Louis nods his head, "I only went once and it was the finale."

Louis remain quiet when he hears Harry's words. The day he had spotted that boy wasn't the finale; Harry isn't the boy he spotted four years ago. And he doesn't know why, but he's disappointed. He's finding himself liking Harry even more as each minute passes but that boy was the one who caught his attention and Louis had wanted him to be that boy.

"Then that's why he won, because you were there. You were his lucky charm." Louis speaks, his voice quiet.

Harry rolls his eyes fondly, "Yeah right."

Louis remains quiet then as Harry continues styling his hair and he quickly types in a quick text to Zayn.

" _Harry isn’t the same boy I saw four years ago_ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twitter: [sametolarry](https://twitter.com/sametolarry)  
> Twitter (personal): [oopshilouve](https://twitter.com/oopshilouve)
> 
> Thanks for reading, I love you ♡♡


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have my driving exam on Wednesday and my anxiety is keeping me up from sleeping properly this entire week :/ Please wish me luck and I would pass my exam.

"Now what? You're just going to be sulking around all day?" Zayn asks and Louis groans loudly.

"What else am I supposed to do? I was starting to really like him and I was hoping it would be him. I didn’t even talk to him afterwards, I left straightaway. I'm horrible I ruined what was between us." Louis whines loudly.

"So this is how Louis is when he has a crush?" Liam speaks but as soon as he says that, Louis throws a cushion at him.

"Shut up, I told Zayn about your crush." Liam eyes widen at that and throws the cushion back at Louis again, hitting him right in the head.

"He didn’t. Louis was just being ridiculous, telling me that you like me just so we could stop talking about Harry." Zayn explains as he grabs Louis' empty mug, leaving Louis and Liam as he heads towards the kitchen.

Liam rubs his face and Louis giggles, "I hate you, Louis."

"I hate you as much, if not more." Louis retorts and then Liam is sitting down on the floor, facing Louis who's still splayed out on the sofa.

"Do you really like Harry?" Liam asks, his tone much more serious and he's looking at him with that gaze again, the one filled with worry and yet so caring. That similar to a worried parent, and that's why Louis loves Liam. He loves how they can go from teasing and annoying each other, to having serious heartfelt conversations in a matter of seconds.

"Yeah." Louis answers quietly and Liam smiles softly.

"Then don't ruin this, Lou. Even if he isn't that boy, he is still someone special, isn't he? If you really like him, then don't let this one thing ruin it between you two." Louis smiles at Liam's kind words and nods his head.

"Thank you. You're such a sap sometimes." Liam rolls his eyes at Louis, causing Louis to giggle.

"Believe me, you're the bigger sap,” Liam pauses, “Also, do you know that the male Greek god of beauty was called Adonis?"

"So you're disappointed he wasn't called Zayn?" Louis says and Liam shakes his head.

"Zayn's name literally means beauty," Liam continues, "And I've realised something—"

"—You realised how big of an idiot you are?" Louis interrupts and Liam hushes him.

"Shush. I've just realised how truly beautiful Zayn is. He doesn't have the same name as the Greek god of beauty, and yet he is still beautiful, inside and out, and that makes him even more beautiful for me than he already was."

Louis remains quiet, staring at Liam for a couple of moments until he finally speaks, "What the fuck are you trying to say? I didn’t understand a thing you said."

"Oh my god, I hate you Louis." Liam tries getting up but Louis quickly holds his hands, pulling him down again.

"No, you're not getting up until you tell me. Why did you say all of this?" Louis demands and Liam looks down, biting his lips.

"I want to tell Zayn that. Louis, he isn't just a crush anymore. I really want to tell him how I really feel." Louis remains quiet, because this changes everything. If Liam does reveal that to Zayn and he doesn't share the same feelings towards Liam, then what will happen to them? Will they still stay the same as they are now? Will they still be as comfortable around each other as they are now? Or will they start ignoring each other and the three of them won't be able to hang out together?

Louis squeezes Liam's hands softly, "Hey, Li," Liam looks up at him and Louis smiles softly, "Whenever you think you're ready to tell him that, let me know if I can help you in anything. But for now, how about we wait? I mean we don't even know if he's into guys. Until couple of months ago he was dating Perrie. Let's just wait for a little bit more, okay?" Louis speaks all softly and gently, the way he talks to his younger sister whenever they call him and tell him about their problems and seem to be in need of reassurance.

Liam nods his head and smiles, "Thanks."

"What are you two doing?" Zayn says, making both Louis and Liam look towards him, as he places Louis' and Liam's mugs down next to them.

"Talking and annoying him." Louis says with a smile and Zayn wordlessly pulls Liam in for a hug. Liam freezes and then he's grinning as he puts his arms around Zayn.

"Thank you for making him smile and finally stop whining." Zayn says as he lets go of Liam and Louis throws the cushion at Zayn, but he catches it with a smirk.

"By the way, when are you supposed to meet Scott?" Liam asks as he takes a sip of his tea and Louis grabs his phone, checking the time.

"In an hour." He replies and sighs. He doesn't know if he's ready yet to reveal to his manager that he's gay.

~~

Louis meets Scott and reveals everything to him the moment Scott asks him about it.

He's on some weird adrenaline rush afterwards. That's why in the evening, when he's once again backstage getting ready for the night, he immediately rushes by Harry's side when he spots him and pulls him in for a tight hug.

"Harry!" Louis exclaims as Harry remains still, probably still in shock, but he's quick to wrap his arms around Louis.

He's warm, Louis thinks as he places his head on top of Harry's shoulder. He's got a warm body, his arms around Louis strong, and Louis has never felt this comfort before. He shuts his eyes briefly as he inhales Harry's scent. He smells fruity and Louis smiles because of course Harry Styles would use a fruit scented shampoo. There is also that scent of his cologne but underneath all of that, that particular scent that is just Harry; Louis makes the decision of it being the most comforting scent.

Somehow, his mind rushes to the premiere of his very first stage production eleven years ago. Louis was just eleven years old and he had found himself longing to have a friend to tell them his true feelings. His mum, step-father, sisters, and Zayn had all come, but he still didn't tell them that. He had longed to have a friend to fill that spot but as the years passed by, that longing for a friend grew to be more than that.

Now he seems to be thinking about that again and how Harry might be the one to fill that spot in his heart.

"Someone's excited today." Harry interrupts Louis’ thoughts with his deep voice.

Louis hums quietly, "I wonder who that person could be."

"I know who it is, do you want to know?" Harry whispers directly into Louis’ ear and he can't seem to stop smiling now.

"Who is it?" Louis asks.

"Me, because you hugged me while being excited and you're excitement is contagious."

Louis groans and pushes himself away from Harry but he can’t hide his smile when he speaks, "You're still awful, Harold."

Harry raises a brow, "Harold? My name is Harry."

"But I'm calling you Harold." Louis announces as he sits down and Harry smiles, nodding his head and seeming to be approving of it.

Harry's spraying a little bit of hairspray for the final time when Louis hears a loud cheerful voice calling them both and he knows its Niall without turning around.

"Harry! Louis!" Niall shouts and immediately engulfs Harry in a hug, nearly tripping them both over.

"Get off me! You just saw me this morning." Harry complains but he still hugs Niall back.

"I didn't thank you for the wonderful breakfast," Niall says, placing a kiss on his cheek and Harry pushes him away, and Niall chuckles as he turns around facing Louis, "Louis!"

This time Louis's the one being attacked by Niall with a huge, tight hug, "Hey Niall. I would very much love to continue being alive after this hug. Could you stop hugging me this tightly? I can't breathe."

Niall starts laughing loudly, his eyes squinting like he always does when Louis says anything that's slightly funny, and moves away.

"So," Niall puts an arm around Harry, pulling him close, "How's Harry? Is he a decent stylist? If he is, then you're welcome. "

Louis sighs, "I guess you could say he's okay. I mean what he does is acceptable."

Niall bursts into laughter again as Harry pouts, "Heyyy."

"Don't pout, Curly. You do great."

Harry’s just about to speak but, much to his dismay, the director is calling him again and Louis has to leave.

The director gathers them all and gives them a little speech on how he's proud of them and thanks them for all of their hard work. He finishes it with wishing them the best of luck and that they'll continue with their hard work in the remaining shows. Louis's ready to turn around and go back to Harry and Niall when Eleanor grabs his hand, pulling his hand slightly, and Louis turns to look at her.

"Louis, can we talk?" She asks, as she fixes a strand of hair and pushes it behind her ear.

"Aren't we talking already?" Louis says and she sighs, "Yeah, alright."

She pulls his hand slightly, pulling him with her to the side. She remains quiet, looking down, until finally she looks up at Louis, "Louis, I— actually, your manager talked to me a few moments ago and he seemed to be ready to tell me something, but then stopped and told me I should talk to you first. What is it?" Eleanor asks, her eyes wide and curious.

Louis’s quick to realise what's going on and knows that Scott definitely wanted to tell Eleanor about him. He has to tell Eleanor because when he eventually comes out, she will be asked countless amount of questions about him and their relationship.

He speaks then, voice really quiet, not wanting anyone nearby to hear them, "I'm gay."

Apparently he spoke too quietly, because Eleanor looks confused, having not heard what he said. He sighs and leans in, whispering directly into her ear, "El, I'm gay."

When he leans back, he's met with a soft smile and gentle eyes. She pulls him in for a hug and speaks, her voice just as equally quiet, "I'm proud of you, Lou."

"Thank you." Louis mumbles.

"If I could help you with anything, let me know." Louis thanks her again and the next thing he knows, they're being called to get ready to be onstage in the next minute.

When the show is over and everyone is getting ready to leave, Louis spots Harry checking his phone, a little frown spread across his face, but it soon disappears as soon as Louis gets by his side. Harry tells him that he's going out with Niall for dinner and Louis, for some reason, probably still being on that weird adrenaline rush, pats his head and tells him to have fun. Harry smiles, but it isn't his usual smile with his dimples fully on display, and Louis doesn't say a thing. Instead, Louis bids him goodbye and he's on his way home.

When he gets home, he's greeted by the sound of Zayn's and Liam's loud laugher coming all the way from the kitchen. He enters the kitchen and smiles at the sight of his two friends' faces and hair covered with flour.

"What are you two exactly doing?" Louis leans against the doorway and the two only continue laughing.

"We were trying to bake but _someone_ ripped open the flour packet and that's how we got in this mess." Zayn explains, as he grabs a nearby towel and wipes the flour that's all over his face.

"And that _someone_ is you, Zayn." Liam adds when Zayn hands him a towel and smiles sheepishly.

"I'm really starting to reconsider my decision of giving you a key to my house. You've made a mess in here." Louis chuckles, making his way into the kitchen without stepping on any of the flour that's been splattered on the floor, and hops on top of the counters.

"We'll clean it up." Zayn announces and Liam raises a brow as he wipes the flour off his face.

" _We_?" Liam says and Zayn nods his head.

"Because you love me so much you won't say no." Zayn says with a grin.

"Yeah, fine." Liam's mumbles and his face is all cleaned up, but he continues pretending to wipe his face to hide his slightly tinted pink cheeks.

Louis grins seeing this as another chance to tease him, "Liam, nothing’s on your face. Why are you still wiping it?"

"I thought there was." Liam quickly replies, glaring at Louis.

"How was the performance today? Did it go well?" Zayn asks, handing Liam a towel to clean the counter that's all covered up with flour.

"It went well. And Nick came today to visit. Apparently he's talking about it tomorrow morning in his show." Louis answers and he's met with a silence. He looks back at Liam and Zayn to see them looking at one another, concern showing clearly all over their faces, "Okay, what happened?"

"Did you check your Instagram?" Zayn asks, voice cautious and quiet.

Louis quickly takes his phone out, but Liam snatches it from him immediately, "Not now. We're going to enjoy our dinner and then you can get your phone back."

Louis huffs out a breath but agrees on that. If it's going to bother him, then he'd want to delay it as much as possible. He's tired and exhausted after these stressful busy days of performing. He wants to enjoy his time with Liam and Zayn.

He soon forgets about his phone when while trying to clean the counter, Liam steps on the flour spattered all over the floor, slipping and nearly falling over, but Zayn quickly catches him, holding his hands tightly. Louis bursts into laughter while Liam hides his face covering the slight blush making its way on his face, and Zayn tries comforting him, unbeknownst to him that he's just making him blush even more.

Eventually at night, when Liam and Zayn had left, and Louis is in his bed under the covers ready to sleep he remembers their conversation earlier and straightaway grabs his phone. He checks his Twitter to see his mentions are flooding with different Tweets from his fans, most of them talking about him and Eleanor, how they look cute together, and hoping they're dating again. He's confused and has no idea on what's going on until he comes across this:

" _@grimmers thanks for the cutest pics of Louis and Eleanor! @Louis_Tomlinson @EleanorJCalder"_

It's all filled with heart emojis at the end of it and Louis is filled with spite towards Nick, even before he can see the pictures everyone seems to be talking about. He goes on his Instagram and he's faced with a two pictures of him and Eleanor. Both had been taken backstage with the first being of him leaning towards Eleanor, whispering directly into her ears, with a caption saying "Part one ;)" and then second being a picture of him hugging Eleanor and Eleanor's smile is clearly visible with a caption "Part two ;)"

Nick had taken the photos when Louis had come out to Eleanor and had somehow turned it into a romantic moment between the two.

"Fuck you Nick." Louis mutters as he continues staring at the photos and finds himself wishing Nick had fell when he had tripped backstage earlier today.

Louis goes back to Twitter when he starts wondering if Harry had seen these pictures and that leads him to wonder if Harry does have a Twitter account. It turns out he does. Louis isn't surprised to see that Harry is already following him and he right away follows him. Moments later and his mentions are being flooded with his fans asking for a follow, while others continue talking about the two pictures, but most of them asking who Harry is.

Louis grins as he puts his phone away and hides under his covers.

~~

He's woken up in the morning by Zayn rubbing his arm gently and whispering all quietly, "Louis, wake up. Let's have a proper breakfast together today."

Louis blinks his eyes open and looks up drowsily at Zayn. He smiles sleepily, and when it occurs to him just what day is it, he's suddenly full of energy and lunges himself towards Zayn, pulling him down next to him.

"Happy birthday Zayn _ie_." Louis exclaims, deliberately using that nickname and Zayn laughs. Louis pulls back the covers and although Zayn complains, he does nothing but snuggles closer to Louis.

"You're so cold, Lou." Zayn hisses when Louis puts his feet between Zayn's legs, but he only pulls him closer warming him. Louis smiles as he buries his face against Zayn's neck. Zayn rubs his back gently, drawing random patterns on his back, and Louis sighs.

"You're getting old." Louis mumbles and Zayn chuckles quietly.

"I'm not the one turning twenty three this year." Louis kicks him and he shrieks, causing Louis to laugh loudly.

"We're growing way too fast, Zayn." Louis complains and Zayn ruffles Louis' hair.

"It's my birthday, don't start. If you want to complain about us growing older, we can do it on your birthday." Louis huffs out a breath and stays quiet.

"Remember when we met?" Louis starts and Zayn hums quietly.

" _'I'm Louis and I'm six and we should be friends because you and I are the only big ones in this class'_ , remember?" Zayn changes his voice to that much higher pitched, mimicking six years old Louis.

"Everyone coloured the animals in these weird colours, except us. We were the only mature ones then." Louis explains between his laugher.

"So if I had coloured the ducks green, we wouldn't have been friends?" Zayn asks and Louis remains quiet, imagining how his life would have been different if Zayn wasn't in it. It would have been much lonelier and Louis definitely wouldn't be where he is today without him.

He has lost count the amount of times he had felt like giving up and Zayn was there reminding him that even though things are being stressful, acting and performing onstage is something Louis enjoys and is talented at. He's been there at all times with Louis, never giving up on him even when Louis felt like giving up, and always knowing when it's time for Louis to take a break when he overworks himself.

Life would be awful without Zayn, Louis thinks. He wraps his arm around Zayn tightly and mumbles quietly, "I love you, Zayn."

"I love you too." Zayn says, pressing a kiss on top of his head, and Louis can hear the smile in his voice.

~~

Louis hadn't really thought about it but, the five of them get along really well.

He and Liam had planned that the three of them, along with Niall, will be going out for dinner celebrating Zayn's birthday. It was supposed to be the four of them until Zayn mentions how he wants to meet Harry. He's met with Liam's approval and the next thing he knows, Louis finds himself inviting Harry.

Harry had been thrilled, voice filled with excitement and Louis could picture him grinning widely like usual, his dimples fully showing.

The five of them are seated in a booth next to a window in a restaurant Niall had recommended. Louis's sitting by the window and Zayn's beside him, between him and Liam, while Harry's sitting across him and Niall's beside Harry. Though Zayn and Liam had just met Harry, they easily got along. The five of them had been engaging in different conversations that always ended up with Louis and Harry drifting to their own little conversations.

From these little conversations Louis learned that Harry's originally from Cheshire and he moved here to London when he started attending uni. Louis also learns that he's very close to his mother and sister by the way his eyes lighted up at their mention. He also loves kittens and proves to Louis that he's very _awful_ when it comes to making jokes, even though Louis laughed at every single one of them.

"You're lame." Louis remarks after Harry's said another of his lame jokes. Harry grins in return.

"And yet you kept on laughing." Harry says and Louis rolls his eyes fondly at him. He playfully kicks Harry's feet underneath the table and Harry scrunches his nose as Louis giggles at his reaction. That's when Harry intertwines their feet underneath the table and Louis forces himself to listen to the other three's conversation when he feels his heart pounding and his stomach fluttering.

"I just don't know what to do." Liam complains and concern is clearly visible in Niall's and Zayn's faces.

"What is it?" Louis voices his concern.

"It's my professor, he writes these weekly newspaper articles talking about his experiences in teaching English Literature," Liam starts explaining to Louis and Harry, "Well, we're discussing couple of topics tomorrow and my opinion towards one of them is the complete opposite of his, and that's the problem. He's going to be all okay with it in class but in his article he's going to talk about one of his student's opinion —which is me–, and he'll make it seem as if I'm wrong, and that’s annoying me. I mean we're all not required to say our opinion on every single topic but I can't stop myself from shutting my mouth."

Zayn pats Liam's back gently, instantly seeming to sooth Liam, and Louis smiles as he starts thinking of a way to help Liam, but Harry speaks then, grabbing everyone's attention with his low voice.

"So, you need a way to stop yourself from saying your opinion?" Harry asks, his voice slow and Louis' gaze is fixed on Harry's sharp jaws and his pink lips. Liam nods his head and Harry continues, "Then think of it like this. Opinions are like arses. We all have them, but we don't want to see them in the newspaper."

It sends them into a fit of laugher. They're loud, probably gaining the attention of everyone nearby, and they really should be quiet considering the fact that he's here along with Niall and he really doesn't want anyone to spot them when they're celebrating Zayn's birthday. By the time they stop laughing, Louis' cheeks and jaw are hurting, and he notices the way Harry's eyes seem to be glowing, and his cheeks a tint of pink.

"Next time when you're going to be genuinely funny, at least give us a warning." Louis says and Harry smiles sheepishly.

They easily go back to their conversations afterwards and Harry sways their feet just a tiny bit, gaining Louis’ attention. Louis looks back at him, "You never told me what you're studying at uni?"

"Fashion." Harry answers.

"Fashionable Harry Styles, currently working as a stylist while studying fashion at uni," Louis says with a grin, "Everything suits you so well. Stop being perfect."

Harry's smiling bashfully now, staring down at the neatly folded napkin on the table as he talks quietly, "I'm not perfect."

"That's not what I think." Louis argues and Harry looks up at him.

"I think you're perfect." Harry admits and Louis's stomach is fluttering again.

He rolls his eyes softly and crosses his arms, "You're just saying that."

Harry sighs, seeming disappointed, and the corners of his mouth fall downwards. He absentmindedly picks the napkin up, holding it in his hands, and then he's smiling as he places it down and folds the napkin neatly in half.

Louis remains quiet staring at Harry as he neatly continues folding the napkin and turning it around. Harry's words keep on running in his mind. _I think you're perfect_. It wasn't just what he said, but the way he had said it. It was sincere. He doesn't know if Harry's gay, but Harry keeps on saying these things and is occasionally flirting with him, so that could mean something.

Harry continues folding the napkin and turning it around once more. He's not meeting Louis' eyes anymore, too focused on folding the napkin. Eventually Louis' curiosity reaches its peak, "What are you doing?"

"This!" Harry picks it up and it's a butterfly. Harry just folded the napkin into a butterfly and he looks so proud of himself. He's grinning proudly, eyes glowing with pride and happiness as he looks at Louis, "It's for you."

Louis picks the folded napkin gently and stares at the neat butterfly. He looks back at Harry to find him still grinning and Louis finds himself saying, "Grinning like a Cheshire cat."

Harry laughs at that, his eyes squinting, and quickly covers his mouth to stop himself from laughing too loudly. When he does eventually stop, his cheeks are slightly pink but he's still smiling.

Louis looks back at the butterfly and decides Harry has to know that he's gay sometime soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twitter: [sametolarry](https://twitter.com/sametolarry)  
> Twitter (personal): [oopshilouve](https://twitter.com/oopshilouve)
> 
> Thanks for reading, I love you ♡♡


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got my license today!! :)  
> Also, I'm half asleep so I really want to apologise for any mistakes I did while editing this.

It happens days later when Louis's getting ready for the show.

Harry runs a brush through Louis' hair and Louis stares at Harry's left arm again, the one filled with tattoos and that particular tattoo peeking underneath his sleeve again. This time he pulls Harry's hand gently and Harry allows him. He stops brushing Louis' hair and Louis pushes his sleeve upwards, eyes instantly falling at the tattoo.

"It's a rose." Louis speaks quietly, staring at the rose and Harry hums.

" _What's in a name, that which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet_." Harry quotes and Louis groans, which only causes Harry to giggle.

"Did you really just say that?" Louis lets go of his hand and looks up at Harry.

Harry shrugs as he returns to brushing Louis' hair. He remains quiet for a while and then speaks all quietly, "Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Why did you and Eleanor break up?" Harry asks, his voice quieter than usual.

Louis hums quietly to himself, glad Harry’s brought it up, and decides that now's the time to tell Harry, "Are you close to finishing?"

Harry misunderstands Louis' words though. He tenses and quickly apologises, "Yeah, I'm about to. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked. It's personal and I really shouldn't ask, I'm so—"

"Harry," Louis speaks softly and Harry pauses, his eyes filled with worry, "It's fine, relax. I just want you to finish soon so I can explain everything."

Harry visibly relaxes at that and finally seems to be breathing normally again, "I thought you were angry or something."

"Yeah, I noticed." Louis remarks and Harry smiles sheepishly as he grabs the hairspray. When he's done, Louis tells him to grab a nearby chair and to sit in front of him and he's quick to do that.

"Eleanor and I were never dating. We were just pretending that the entire time." Louis starts and Harry's eyes widen at that. He blinks once, then twice, and then he's biting his lips to prevent himself from smiling, but Louis notices it. He notices how ecstatic Harry seems now.

Louis raises a brow and Harry quickly looks down, covering his face in his hands, "Why are you smiling?" Louis speaks, his tone playful.

Harry looks back at Louis, his eyes shining so brightly now, and he's still biting his lips, "I was kind of hoping that, because I kind of felt that. It's like, sometimes when new pictures of you two appeared ―I mean you're really great at acting Lou― but with Eleanor you're shit at acting. You just looked so miserable with her."

Louis leans back in his chair and Harry urges him to continue explaining everything, "When Hannah and I broke up, there were many rumours going on about my sexuality. I didn't really care about it but at that time I was going to start performing soon and I had many interviews coming up, and even if I denied the rumours, they'll still be talked about for a while. So to stop these rumours and to help Eleanor get more recognition, we started dating after our managers decided that. I was against it but it still happened."

Harry remains quiet and then so quietly, "Why did you and Hannah break up?" Harry asks, fiddling with a loose thread of his sweater.

Louis takes in a long breath, knowing the moment has come, and reveals it to Harry, "Because I started doubting my sexuality then."

Harry looks up, almost seeming hopeful as he asks, "And are you—"

"Louis! Come over here, quickly! The director needs you."

Harry looks down immediately and Louis feels like killing Nick right now. He turns around to see Nick smirking, almost as if he knows he just ruined something important to Louis. He's always like that, always ecstatic and eager in making Louis' life miserable.

Disappointment is visible in Harry's eyes as he mumbles, "They need you."

"Yeah." Louis mutters, as he leaves when the director calls him again.

Nick isn't with the director when Louis gets there and he's glad. The last thing he wants right now is to see Nick's irritating face. The director starts going over Louis' stage positions that have changed in some scenes due to one of the actor's injury. He injured his leg and is barely able to walk and they were all called for a sudden rehearsal in the early morning to memorise their new positions and to go over all of the other necessary changes that were done. The director is halfway done when Harry's laugher catches Louis' attention. He glances towards Harry's direction and sees Nick sitting right in front of Harry and he's smirking, that awful dreadful smirk that Louis hates. He places his hand on top of Harry's shoulder and leans a bit closer as he starts talking again, and Louis starts getting this feeling in his stomach, that creeping wash of unease in the pit of his stomach. He knows it's jealousy and it's quite ridiculous. He shouldn't be jealous, it's not like he and Harry are dating or anything.

Harry is smiling and listening to Nick intently, but that glow in his eyes that he has while talking to Louis isn't there, and that seems to lessen his uneasiness.

"So in this scene, the only difference is that when you first walk in, you'll stand on the left, next to him, until his part is over. Then, when he starts leaving, that's when you slowly make your way on the other side of the stage," The director repeats and Louis nods his head idly, eyes still fixed on Harry and Nick, "Louis, are you listening?"

Louis turns around, facing him with a tight smile, "Yes."

He continues going over everything else with him and by the time they're finished, the director calls up everyone and goes over the important changes with everyone. When they're done, it's already time to go onstage and Louis can't go back to Harry.

Louis' performance is just like every other night. He's filled with energy, acting and singing with passion, and he's proud. He knows what he's doing. He's been doing this for eleven years and acting is one thing he's certain he's brilliant at. Whenever his parts come, he repeats his lines and easily fits into his character. And Louis loves being onstage. He loves the thrill he gets whenever he performs and how he can easily slip into his role, portraying his character, and forgetting about all of the things that's been troubling him. They receive loud cheers and applauses by the end of their performance and Louis's buzzed just like he always is after a performance.

~~

Zayn's and Liam's shoes are the first things Louis notices when he enters his house and he yells loudly, "Zayn!"

"How did you even know I was here?" Zayn yells back and Louis groans.

"Because I saw yours and Liam's stupid shoes. What would your shoes be doing in my house without you?" Louis continues yelling.

He takes off his shoes, tossing them somewhere, and heads to where Liam and Zayn are. They're both squeezed right next to each other on the sofa, watching some movie, and Louis makes Liam scoot over, so he's sitting between them both.

They both seem to sense Louis' need for comfort, because Zayn immediately places his arm around Louis' shoulders, and so does Liam, hiding his disappointment from being taken away from Zayn. He's squeezed between them both so tightly but he finds comfort in that.

"What happened?" Zayn asks, his voice soft and quiet.

Louis doesn't answer right away, he stares at the floor for a while, trying to find the right words. He lets out a short breath and speaks, "I hate Nick."

"He came again today?" Liam and Zayn both ask in unison.

"For some reason yeah," Louis whines, "I was talking to Harry and he interrupted us. I couldn't talk to him later."

Louis hides his face in his hands and he feels Zayn's and Liam's touches. They're there, rubbing his arm gently and soothingly. They don't speak because they don't need to. They're soothing and comforting, always letting Louis know that they're always here.

"But I told Harry about me and Eleanor." Louis speaks after moments of silence.

"And?" Liam eagerly asks and Zayn's smiling widely, "Should we expecting you two going on dates really soon?"

"Shut up, Li," Louis elbows Liam in his stomach and Zayn laughs at Liam's yelp, "Besides, he could be straight. And he doesn't know that I'm gay, because as soon as I was going to tell him that, fucking Grimshaw had to interrupt."

"Speaking of which, did you see those pictures the other day?" Liam asks and Louis huffs out a breath.

"Yes, I did," Louis pauses, "I hate him. I seriously hate him."

He spends the remainder of the night with Liam and Zayn by his sides. It's when they're about to leave he decides to finally reveal to them his plans for tomorrow.

"I won't be here tomorrow." Louis announces. They both remain quiet waiting for him to explain and he smiles as he speaks quietly, "I'm going home. I need to see my mum."

As soon as he says that, he's being engulfed in a hug by them both, and he knows that they both understood he’s going to come out to his family tomorrow. He smiles as Zayn presses a kiss on top of his head, "It's going to be fine."

"We love you." Liam adds and he presses a kiss on top of his head as well. Louis smiles even more and his eyes are starting to water. He's lucky to have them both.

~~

It's eight in the morning when he reaches there. He hadn't even realised how homesick he'd been until he spotted his home. It's still the same house that's comforting and warm. His life is constantly changing but this house has stayed the same. It's still got those brown bricks that Zayn drew so beautifully during winter when it covered up in snow. It's still got its green garden that his mother loves taking care of. It's still the same house that Louis finds the most comfort. When he parks his car, he quickly gets out in a hurry to see his mum and sisters again.

When he'd called last night and told her he was coming over, she was thrilled. He could hear the smile in her voice as she told him how excited his sisters will be. He waits by the door just for a few seconds until it's swung open and he's faced with two familiar faces of his sisters. The moment he sees them, his eyes soften, and their faces instantly light up and they both wear the same huge smile on their faces.

Straightaway both girls engulf him in a tight hug, "Louis!"

"Hey kiddos." Louis softly says as he wraps his arms around Phoebe and Daisy. Both girls keep on repeating how much they've missed him and love him, and Louis remains silent, listening to them intently and softly running his hand through Daisy's hair and rubbing Phoebe's back gently.

He doesn't know how long they stay like that but it's the familiar gentle voice of his mother that catches his attention, "Girls, let your brother in. When is it my turn to hug him?"

It's when Louis sees her it smacks him how much he's missed being here and how much he's missed his mother. She's smiling gently, her eyes already watering, but he can see pride and joy behind those tears. Her hair is all pushed back and she's still as beautiful as ever, even when she has a bigger pregnant stomach this time with two little babies.

"Mum! Why didn't you tell us Louis was coming?" Daisy asks as the two girls let Louis go and step back, allowing him to finally get in and to be surrounded by the familiar warmth of their home.

"To surprise you and don't tell your sisters yet." His mum says and the two girls nod their heads before they hurry off towards the kitchen.

"Mum," Louis says, and his voice sounds so soft and small. Her gentle eyes seem to soften even more as she takes one step forward and wraps her arms around him. Louis instantly wraps his arms around her, resting his head on top of her shoulder, as she rubs his back gently but she's still holding him tightly and closely, "I missed you."

"I missed you too sweetheart. It's never the same without you." She speaks, still holding Louis closely.

"I know, it's because I'm your favourite," Louis chuckles lightly and she smiles as she takes a step back and shakes her head slightly, "And how are these two?"

"There are nights they're keeping me up, but I love them." She places a hand on her stomach, her smile gentle and loving as it always is and Louis's pleased. He loves his mother and knowing she's genuinely happy is enough for him.

They head to the kitchen then and banter on who's going to make tea —" _but mum I should be making it, you should rest_." " _You're only here for one day, I should be spoiling you_." — and it ended with his mum making the tea, and Louis was secretly hoping for that. He wants to be spoiled by his mum, and though he'll never reveal it, he knows that his mother knows that.

They spend their time squeezed next to each other on the sofa catching up. Louis tells her what's been happening lately, sharing some things he, Liam, Zayn, and Niall have done. She starts telling him about his sisters and how Lottie attempted to be a vegetarian when her friend became one but gave up after two days of trying. When she starts telling him about the boy Fizzy has been talking about a lot recently, his older-brother role kicks in, and starts asking all sort of questions about the boy. His mother shushes him saying she met him and he seemed nice.

It's just moments later Louis hears the familiar voices of Lottie and Fizzy giggling and talking quietly to each other as they make their way downstairs. He smiles when he sees them both and they both freeze in their spot when they see Louis.

"Good morning." Louis grins and Fizzy is the first to rush by his side and give him a warm hug.

"You didn't tell us you were coming." She whines as she steps back to allow her sister to hug him.

"I did, but mum decided not to tell anyone of you." Louis says as he pulls Lottie in a tight hug.

"You have lots of explanation to do Louis!" Lottie states and Fizzy shrieks in excitement as she pulls Louis to sit down again, and she sits closely next to him.

"You two your brother is here today only, don't annoy him." His mother straightaway tells them but Lottie shakes her head.

"We're not going to annoy him or anything," She answers as she sits down on the coffee table, facing Louis, "Why didn't you tell me your new stylist is hot?"

Louis remains quiet for a while, letting her words sink in, and then raises a brow, "How did you know about him?"

"She saw Lou's tweet." Fizzy explains as she scrolls through her Twitter and hands Louis her phone to see Lou's tweet.

" _@louteasdale: Many of you have been telling me Louis' hair is gorgeous in the play and it really is but it's all thanks to his new stylist @Harry_Styles_ "

"We saw this last night." Fizzy says as Louis hands her phone back.

Louis looks back at Lottie, eyebrows raised, as she huffs out a breath, and it's weird. His sister just called Harry hot, the same boy who was flirting with Louis days ago. The same boy that made Louis realise he's gay. The same boy who Louis has a crush on.

"Louis, can I meet him?" Lottie pleads, and Louis smirks.

"No, you can't."

"Lottie what did I say about annoying your brother?" His mum says again and she huffs out a breath and mutters how it's not fair.

"She has a crush on him—" Fizzy says but is interrupted by Lottie.

"I don't! I just want to meet him." Lottie argues and their mother sighs.

"You two, go and eat breakfast." She says and Lottie nods her head, sighing in defeat, as she gets up. Fizzy giggles as she gets up and leaves as well.

They drift into a comfortable silence afterwards. Louis looks down at his feet and is suddenly nervous when he decides it's the right time to tell his mother. He takes in a deep breath as he stutters, "M—mum?"

"What is it love?" She asks immediately, her voice filled with concern as she notices how nervous Louis is.

He swallows the lump in his throat and bites his bottom lip before he starts speaking again, "I want to tell you something."

He looks up at her, gaining enough courage to meet her eyes, and she nods her head, urging him to continue.

"Mum, I'm gay." Louis says it all quietly, and instantly looks down again. He's afraid to meet his mother's eyes and what he might see in them. His hands are shaking and his heart is pounding, and his mother is still quiet.

"Louis?" His mother speaks quietly and Louis looks up at her, meeting her eyes again, and she smiles gently, her eyes gentle, loving, and proud, "You're still my Louis, that doesn't change a thing."

She pulls him in a tight hug and Louis hides his face against her shoulder as he speaks again, voice muffled, "I was scared you might be disappointed or something like that."

"You're being ridiculous, love." She comforts him, rubbing his back gently, and Louis feels himself tearing up. He keeps on thinking that what if his mother had been disappointed. He won't have this anymore. He wouldn't have his mother rubbing his back and comforting him. He wouldn't have his loving gentle mother anymore. That's when the tears star rolling down his face.

"Louis, sweetheart, you're my lovely son. I'll always love you no matter what. This doesn't change a thing. I'm so proud of you for figuring this out and telling me this. I love you so much." She reassures him, holding him gently and tightly, as she continues whispering soothing words to him.

When he's stopped crying and he leans back, he notices the tears in his mother’s eyes, "Why are you crying?"

She holds Louis' hand, squeezing gently, "Because I'm proud of you."

Louis presses a kiss against her cheeks, "I love you."

"Mum! Fizzy just told me that she has a crush on that boy—"

"At least I'm not the one who has a crush on my brother's stylist—"

Lottie and Fizzy stop in their tracks when their eyes fall on Louis and their mum, noticing their watery eyes.

"Mum? Is everything alright?" Fizzy asks, her voice wavering, a clear indication of her worry.

"Come here, both of you. Louis has something to tell you."

They both take the news well. He gets a hug from them both and only then the words they both shouted earlier start sinking in. He demands to know more about the boy Fizzy has a crush on and then tells Lottie to stop thinking about Harry.

When Dan arrives, he's as accepting as his mother and sisters were of the news. The rest of the day is spent well. He takes his four sisters out and buys them gifts, even buying some stuffed toys for his soon-to-be-born siblings. They're all ecstatic when they get back and his mother isn't disapproving, but tells him to stop spoiling his sisters so much. Louis just kisses her on her cheeks and gives her the gift he bought her which instantly makes her smile.

It's after dinner and around the time Louis's about to leave his mother tells him to join him in the kitchen with Dan.

"What is it?" Louis asks as soon as he notices their huge smiles and how eager they both seem.

"We have a date for our wedding," his mother announces and Louis instantly smiles, "It's going to be on the twentieth of July and you are coming. So are Zayn and Liam and Niall."

It's not so much afterwards he leaves and when he gets home, it's quiet without Liam and Zayn. He takes a quick shower and hides under his covers. Louis picks his phone then, realising he had ignored it the entire day, and texts Zayn.

" _mum's wedding is July 20 . I hope you and Liam's wedding is next?_ "

Zayn's response comes in a few minutes later:

" _why do you keep on saying that about me and Liam_ "

Louis chuckles because Zayn's ignorance when it comes to Liam's crush will never stop being hilarious. He gets another response from Zayn just after a few seconds:

" _and no the next wedding is yours and Harrys :) xx_ "

" _I hate you zayn_ "

" _I love you too_ "

He's just about to put his phone down and go to sleep when his screen brightens. He rubs his eyes and checks to see it's a text from Harry.

His stomach flutters then and he quickly unlocks his phone.

" _Louis?_ "

Louis rubs his eyes again and quickly replies to him.

" _What is it?_ "

In a matter of seconds Harry's response comes.

" _Can I talk to you?_ "

Louis sits there staring at the text and he realises if Harry talked as fast as he typed, their conversations would be much shorter. However, hearing Harry's slow deep voice always seems to brighten Louis' mood. He doesn't know what it is that pushes him to do that, but the next thing he finds himself doing is calling Harry.

He picks up immediately and his voice on the phone is just as raspy and wonderful.

"Louis?" He answers and Louis smiles, finally hearing Harry's voice again.

"What is it that's so important that you had to talk to me at," Louis pauses as he reads the time, "Two in the morning?"

"I'm so sorry! Did I wake you up? I'm so—"

"Harry, talk." Louis abruptly interrupts and Harry stops talking.

"Okay," Harry pauses for a few moments, "I can't go to sleep."

"And how can I help?" Louis asks as he pulls the comforter, covering himself up.

"It's just that I've been thinking about what you said yesterday. I mean I know we've talked before about many things even when we went out for Zayn's birthday, it's just yesterday it was different. It was something that was really important to you and you never got to finish what you were saying, and it's been bothering me since then." Harry admits, talking slower than usual, and Louis can tell he's tired.

"So you want me to finish?" Louis says and it isn't a question because they both know the answer. Louis stares at the butterfly napkin sitting on his nightstand. He remembers Harry folding it neatly and listening to him intently as he had talked. He remembers how every single time when they talk Harry listens closely, giving Louis his entire attention, and his green eyes are always bright and warm. He smiles because he's probably looking like this now even when Louis isn't with him. He's more confident now after revealing it to his family, so he reveals it straightaway with much more confidence, "I wanted to tell you that recently I figured out I'm gay."

"I'm gay too," Harry says it quickly, almost as if he was waiting Louis to say that. He clears his throat when he seems to have realised what he had just said, "Umm, that's not what I first wanted to say. What I'm trying to say is that there is nothing wrong with being gay, I'm gay too. That's how it was supposed to go."

"Hmm, is that so?" Louis says, voice higher than usual, and he's ecstatic. The only thought on his mind is _Harry's gay! Harry's gay! Harry's gay!_

"It just occurred to me that I know something that the entire world doesn't know about you." Harry mumbles. Louis smiles and thinks _I want you to know more things about me the entire world won't ever know about_.

"You know what the world didn't know up until last night? That you're my stylist." Louis says with a smile and it emits a sleepy chuckle from Harry.

"I saw it today morning and it was insane. So many of your fans are asking me things like how does your hair feel like, or how does it smell." Harry answers with a chuckle.

"Did you answer them?" Louis asks and when Harry denies that he continues with, "But do you have the answer to that?"

Harry speaks quietly and Louis can hear the smile in his voice, "Your hair is really soft."

Louis finds himself smiling and he wants to tell Harry that he loves his hair, but he doesn't. Instead he opts to end the call seeing how tired they both seem to be, "Go to sleep, Harold."

"Okay," Harry mumbles, "You'll go to sleep now?"

"Yeah." Louis wants Harry to sleep seeing how tired he seems to be and how tired he is after a long day, but a part of him doesn't want that. He wants to continue talking to Harry and hearing his voice until he falls asleep.

"Goodnight Lou." Harry murmurs and Louis smiles thinking about Harry and how he might look like right now, tired and sleepy, ready to go to sleep. His mind starts to wander off to imaging Harry sleeping, but he manages to have enough self-control to stop himself from having these thoughts.

"Goodnight."

~~

"It's the final day, what are your thoughts?"

Louis looks up at Harry when he stops spraying some hairspray and raises a brow, "What is this? An interview? Do you have any idea how many times I've been asked this question?"

Harry pouts, but Louis easily notices how he's trying to stop himself from smiling, "I was just trying to be supportive."

"You're supportive, just don't ask me this question." Louis says and he notices how Harry's eyes straightaway falls onto Eleanor when he hears her laughing somewhere nearby with some of the other actors.

"Louis, can I ask you something?" Harry asks.

"You’re already asking me a question."

Harry scrunches up his nose but then slowly and quietly asks, "Have you decided when you want to come out?" Louis remains still, looking down at his feet, "If you don't want to answer I understand."

"No, it's just that," Louis pauses and chuckles, "I haven't really thought about it. Scott was suggesting that I could reveal it in an interview but I don't really know."

Harry meets Louis’ eyes, and his eyes so kind yet serious when he speaks, "Louis, I know I shouldn't get in the way or anything, but how and when you want to come out is your choice. You shouldn't do it someone else’s way. You only get to do it once and you should do it the way you want to. I just don't want you to do it in a way you wouldn't be comfortable with."

Harry's genuine and has been supportive, caring, and warm all this time. Louis smiles gently at Harry's words and sincerity, "Thank you."

He smiles timidly this time, looking down bashfully, "Good luck tonight."

Louis' performance this night is stunning and eye-catching, that's what everyone tells him. They all assume it's because of it being the final night and Louis answers them with a maybe. He doesn't tell anyone how it's all because of Harry being in his mind all night long.

The cheers of the crowd is loud as Louis and the actors leave the stage after the final bow. He hears the loud shouting, laugher, and the many familiar voices as they reach the backstage area. There's loud cheering then, for all of the actors, and Louis finds himself spending the next minutes thanking everyone that congratulates him and accepting their hugs.

There are glasses of champagne being passed around next and they all cheer for their director. They're all euphoric, the feeling of accomplishment mutual between them all.

Finally, after more hugs and cheers, Louis makes his way to Harry. His eyes are wide and glinting with so much happiness and pride as he pulls Louis in a tight hug.

"Congratulation, Lou!" Harry exclaims and Louis finds himself giggling softly, feeling slightly tipsy and bubbly after the few glasses of champagne.

"Thank you." Louis doesn't let go when Harry pulls back. Instead, he's pulling him in again, and he hears Harry's slight chuckles as he pulls him closer. Louis blames it on the few glasses he's had and him being euphoric after a completing another massive successful play.

"I'm sure you've heard this already, but your performance tonight was stunning.” Harry tells him as Louis rests his head on top of his shoulder.

"That's because," Louis steps back and pokes Harry's nose playfully, "I was thinking of you."

Harry smiles softly and he shakes his head, "I'm trying to be serious, Lou. It's because it's the final night."

Louis pouts and sighs, "It was you, Haz."

Harry smiles at the nickname, his eyes still glowing, and giggles softly when Louis' phone rings and instead of answering it, Louis accidently drops his phone. He raises a brow and Harry bites his lips as Louis grabs his phone and answers Zayn's call.

The rest of the night passes by with them celebrating the success of the play and Louis never leaving Harry's side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twitter: [sametolarry](https://twitter.com/sametolarry)  
> Twitter (personal): [oopshilouve](https://twitter.com/oopshilouve)
> 
> Thanks for reading, I love you ♡♡


	4. Chapter 4

" _I’m fine Zayn I can take care of myself . just focus on your art its important."_

" _your health is much more important._ "

" _stop being such a mum ! if I dont call in the next 2 hours that should be enough for you to know I’m capable of taking care of myself._ "

" _ok, but im sure youll be calling :) xx_ "

" _goodbye_ "

" _get well soon lou xx_ "

Louis's typing his response when he starts coughing uncontrollably again. He's tempted to call Zayn right then and tell him to come over and take care of him, but he doesn't. Zayn's busy working on his project and Louis doesn't want to bother him. Besides, he's twenty two years old, he should be capable of taking care of himself.

He pulls the covers and tucks himself under them. He's been perfectly fine last night after their final performance, and yet he woke up today coughing uncontrollably. He feels terrible. He's got a sore throat that the coughing is just making it worse. He’s also got a high fever, and he's feeling exhausted and spacey, and in the dire need of more sleep. But he can't sleep because whenever he's finally on the verge of dozing off, he starts coughing over and over again.

He sighs and grabs his phone when the screen brightens to see he's got a text from Liam.

" _heard from zayn youre doing poorly :( get well soooon louis , if you need anything let me knoww._ "

He smiles at Liam's text as he quickly types in his response.

" _I hate you liam xx_ "

" _I hate you too :) xx_ "

After a while Louis finally dozes off but he’s waken up shortly afterwards when his phone rings loudly. He groans, thinking about how he's got the worst luck and he grabs his phone, not bothering to check to see who it is, and answers it. He parts his mouth, ready to answer, but instead all he does is start coughing uncontrollably.

"Fuck." Louis mutters when he's finally stopped coughing and clears his throat.

"Louis?" Harry's warm voice grabs Louis' attention and hearing Harry's voice is the only good thing that has happened in this miserable day, "You okay?"

"Not really," Louis says, his voice hoarse as he continues speaking, "I've got a cold and I'm lonely."

"Do Zayn and Liam know?" Harry asks and Louis can hear the concern in his voice.

"Yeah, but I don't want them to come. It's the end of their semester and they've got projects to finish, and I don't want them to waste their time taking care of me." Louis explains as he sighs. He buries his face in the pillow as Harry starts talking.

"I don't have anything." Harry mumbles, his voice barely audible.

"I'm sick and exhausted, and my brain is too tired to think. Just say what's on your mind Haz." He mumbles, feeling too worn out to even talk and think properly.

"Can I come over?" Harry asks, his voice timid and quieter.

"But I'm sick."

"That's why I want to come. I want to take care of you. You're sick and you said you're lonely." Harry confesses and Louis wants to say yes. He knows how he instantly gets happy when he sees Harry, how his heart flutters, and he finds himself smiling plenty of times. He wants that right now, but he doesn't want to bother Harry. Besides, if Harry does come over then it's most likely he'll get sick as well.

"Thank you. As lovely as that sounds, I don't want to bother you and get you sick. I can take care of myself, I'm not that sick—" Louis stops talking when his coughing interrupts him. He lets out a long breath after his coughing has finally stopped. He knows how unconvincing that was and frankly, he's too tired to pretend he's fine anymore.

"You were saying?" Harry says and Louis can hear the smirk in his voice.

"I'll send you my address."

~~

Harry arrives an hour later, his eyes wide and glittering, "Your house is so beautiful and huge, Lou." Harry exclaims as he steps into his house. Louis raises a brow as he looks around his house. His house isn't really huge, he thinks. It's quite spacious but it's still simple.

"It isn't huge." Louis says, pulling Harry's arm slightly, finally snapping him out of his trance. He takes off his shoes and neatly places them next to each other. He does the same for Louis' shoes and presses them close to his shoes. He smiles when he stands straight and admires his work.

"Compared to my flat, this place is really huge," Harry admits, finally letting his gaze land on Louis. He frowns when he notices Louis' nose is slightly red, his eyes dropping, and his messy dishevelled hair, "Louis, you should be in bed—"

Louis sneezes, interrupting Harry, and he sniffles slightly, grabbing a tissue.

"Come on, we're going to your bedroom." Harry gently tells Louis, grabbing his hand.

Louis smirks when he hears Harry's words, "I'm not that easy, Harold."

He laughs when Harry's eyes widen and he looks down, shaking his head slightly, "You're unbelievable.”

Louis's still holding Harry's hands when he goes back to his room and hides under his covers. And when Harry places his hand against Louis' forehead, his touch warm and gentle, Louis closes his eyes, feeling tired again and in the need of sleep.

"You're hot."

"I know that, thank you." Louis teases and Harry rolls his eyes at him.

"Have you taken any medicine?" Harry asks as he tucks Louis in.

"No."

"Did you eat something?" Harry asks again and smiles gently when Louis pouts, "Of course not. I'm going to make you something to eat, and while I'm doing that you get some rest."

"Thanks." Louis mumbles as he turns around in bed, too tired to protest, his eyes dropping, and he's already falling asleep.

~~

"Louis. Wake up, Lou."

Louis blinks his eyes open when he hears Harry's voice calling him. He rubs his eyes and feels a gentle touch against his forehead, pushing his hair away.

"I made you breakfast." Harry tells him and Louis' eyes straightaway fall on the tray sitting on the top of his nightstand.

His eyes lighten up when he notices his mug, "You made me tea?"

Harry nods his head and Louis smiles. Harry's made him breakfast, tea, and has even brought him some medicine. He wants to hug Harry, he wants to kiss him, and tell him _"I love you"_ and " _always stay with me"_ but instead all he does is bury his face against the pillow and giggle softly.

~~

Harry doesn't leave Louis after that, even when Louis falls asleep after taking his medicine. When he wakes up, he blames his medicine for falling asleep, admitting it made him drowsy.

The day passes by quickly and the next thing he knows, it's night and he's drowsy again after taking his medicine. He falls asleep then with Harry sitting by his side.

~~

Louis wakes up with an angel sleeping by his side. He blinks his eyes twice and rubs them, and he's still there. He pinches himself one last time, and yet he's still there. This isn't a dream; Harry is sleeping by his side.

The memories of the night before flood quickly then and he remembers his eyes dropping and Harry's sleepy smile, telling him to sleep. He had been sitting by his side, purposely talking slower than usual, and Louis' gaze had been fixed on Harry's pink lips. He remembers falling asleep, hearing Harry's voice, and thinking of warm green eyes.

Harry had been sleepy, so he must have fallen asleep around that time as well.

When the realisation of Harry being actually asleep next to him finally seems to sinks in, Louis panics. He doesn't know what to do. _Do I go back to sleep? Do I wake him up? What will he do when he gets up?_ As the thoughts rush through his mind, he's snapped back into reality when Harry mumbles something incoherent in his sleep and curls into himself.

Louis freezes and he instantly softens as he admires Harry. He's letting out soft breaths in his sleep, his features all at ease, and he looks so _so vulnerable_ , and Louis is overwhelmed with this feeling of holding Harry and keeping him safe.

He gently pulls the comforter that's just underneath Harry's feet and covers him with it. At that, Harry blinks his eyes open and it takes him a good few seconds to realise where he's at. His eyes immediately widen and Louis smiles gently and ruffles his hair, calming Harry down.

Harry smiles timidly as he rubs his eyes, "Good morning."

And Louis feels like crying because Harry's voice is making him weak. His usual voice is deep, but now it's much raspier and deeper, thick with sleep.

"Slept well?" Louis asks, his voice sounding much softer than what he intended, his voice betraying him. But it's always like this when it comes to Harry; everything seems to betray him.

Harry chuckles, slow and quietly, "I should be asking you that. Are you feeling better today?"

"Much better." Louis says and smiles because he is feeling much better today, no longer feeling drowsy and in the need of sleep. He's much more energetic, nearly as he always is.

Harry looks back at Louis, his eyes warm and soft, and remains quiet for a while staring at him. He takes in a long breath after a while and speaks quietly, "Louis? Can I tell you something?"

"Yeah." Louis answers right away, sitting in bed, and Harry immediately sits up as well. He turns around, facing Harry, and Harry's fidgeting.

"Four years ago you visited The X Factor once and that day Niall forgot his lucky guitar pick at my room. I remember I rushed to get there and Niall told me you were there. So we ran everywhere trying to find you but we were told that you left. I thought that was my only chance in seeing you and it got ruined. And yeah, I just felt like telling you this, because like, I don’t know, but I feel like maybe it’s better we didn’t meet then. I always kind of feel like it was fate, kind of like it saying _no you’re not going to meet now, I have better plans for you two_." Harry admits all quietly, looking down at his fidgeting hands, but Louis's frozen in his spot.

Four years ago Harry was there; four years ago Louis saw a boy with Niall and Harry was that boy.

"You told me you only went to the final?" Louis quickly speaks, clutching tightly onto the covers, and Harry smiles sheepishly.

"I lied. I just didn't know how to explain all of this and how I missed seeing you—"

Harry is abruptly stopped by Louis pulling him close to him, so close that if one of them were to move just a bit forward, their lips would meet.

"Harry, do you know what you've done?" Louis starts and Harry blinks, eyes wide and bright, and he's quiet as Louis continues talking, "that day I saw a boy who made me realise that I might not be straight and when I saw you two weeks ago you I thought you could be that boy. But you told me you weren't there during that day, and do you even know what happened to me? I was disappointed because the moment I saw you, you caught my attention and made me realise I'm gay and I just can't seem to get you out of my head. I was hoping you were that boy because as each day passed I liked you even more and I thought it would all make sense if you were that boy. So now you're telling me that you were there after all?"

He wasn't planning on any of this. He wasn't planning on confessing to Harry in this sort of way, but his emotions got the best of him and he ended up blurting this out.

"You like me?" Harry asks, voice slow and quiet, and they're still so close to each other, and Harry's gaze falls down on his lips and Louis doesn't miss seeing that. And he knows that means a thing. He's noticed Harry's not so subtle flirts. He's noticed how Harry's eyes seem to have this bright glow when he's with him. He's noticed how when he says something that's slightest bit funny, he laughs and his smile lingers after his laugher has died down. He's noticed how whenever they're next to each other Harry seems to be leaning towards his side. He's noticed enough gestures to know that Harry likes him the same way.

Louis isn't hesitant when he speaks, "I like you. And do you want to know what I really want?"

"What?" Harry asks, voice high but coming out almost as a whisper.

"I really want to kiss you." Louis admits and doesn't miss seeing the way Harry's eyes widen and how the corners of his mouth rise.

"I really want that too—" Louis interrupts him straightaway, not wasting a second, and closes the space that was between them both. His lips meet Harry's, and Harry's lips are soft and tender against his. He cups Harry's face, deepening the kiss, and Louis can feel his heart beating louder but pushes that thought away because he's finally kissing Harry, finally having revealed what he truly feels to Harry. He moves one of his hands to the back of his neck, his fingers brushing softly against the nape of Harry's neck. When he softly pulls on the curls at the back of his neck Harry lets out small soft noises, and Louis' heart flutters.

When they pull apart, Harry's eyes are bright and his cheeks are a tint of red, matching his lips, and Louis brushes his finger softly against his cheeks.

Harry smiles, leaning into Louis' touch, and giggles softly, "I should have told you that earlier."

~~

Harry makes breakfast with Louis sitting on top of the counter, sipping on his tea, and observing him. When breakfast is ready, Louis pulls him closer and tells him to sit by his side and eat breakfast together on top of the counter. There are kisses shared throughout their breakfast and they're inseparable. They're a giggling mess afterwards and Louis loves it. He loves the way Harry makes him smile and laugh.

Eventually Harry leaves for his classes with a promise to call him right after his classes to check on him. He kisses him one last time after telling Louis he wants him to rest. Louis's left alone for around half an hour and then Zayn calls him, telling him that he and Liam will be coming over soon.

~~

"Louis, what's with that _smile_?" Liam asks and Louis rolls his eyes.

"I'm happy that I'm no longer sick."

"Or that you and Harry were all alone yesterday. I wonder what you two did—"

"Liam, might I remind you of your crush?" Louis interrupts him and Liam instantly stops talking

"So what happened between you two?" Zayn asks instead and Louis glares at Liam when he laughs.

"Shut up, Liam. And nothing. He just took care of me. "

"He took care of you as in took care of you by bringing you medicine and all of that or _took care of you_?" Zayn bursts into laugher at Liam’s words and Louis throws a pillow at him.

"Both of you shut up. The only thing we did was kiss, so­―" Louis groans when he realises what he just revealed, knowing Liam won’t stop teasing him about it now.

"Ahh, I see what you did. You pretended to be sick so you can get a kiss." Liam says and Zayn laughs.

"Shut up and just forget it." Louis says and he notices the way Zayn and Liam smile gently now.

"Louis, I know we tease you a lot, but we're happy for you, really." Liam tells him and Zayn nods his head.

"I saw the way he looks at you when you talk and how he pays attention to everything you do, and you do the same. You two are perfect for each other." Zayn adds.

"Thank you." Louis mumbles all quietly and sees Liam smirking again.

"So, were you really sick or―"

"Liam, if you don't shut up," Zayn laughs at them and Louis doesn’t miss seeing the way Liam’s smile flattens as he looks down. And it’s strange. Whenever Zayn laughs or smiles, it always leaves Liam smiling. It doesn’t make sense that he isn’t smiling like usual.

When Liam finally meets Louis’ eyes, he’s forcing a smile but Louis doesn’t want to ask him about it in front of Zayn. He forces himself to remain quiet and not to mention it the rest of the day.

~~

"Liam, it's three in the morning. What is—"

"Louis, I'm outside. I want to talk." Liam interrupts quickly, his voice steady yet wavering.

Louis stays quiet, holding his phone tightly, and staring at the ceiling. He huffs out a breath, "I'm coming."

He leaves his phone and forces himself to get up, kicking the covers away and untangling himself from them. He rubs his eyes and gets out from the room, squinting his eyes at the bright lights of the hallway that he refuses to switch off during the night.

When he opens the door for Liam, he's met with a cold breeze and he rushes Liam to get in.

"It's bloody cold outside." Liam says, rubbing his arms, and Louis wants to go back in bed, warm and comfortable underneath the covers.

"So is it a 'talk and sleep' kind of night or 'drink wine and cry then sleep' kind of night?" Louis asks and Liam chuckles quietly almost seeming sad.

"The second one." And Louis smiles gently, knowing that it must be about Zayn. They only have these sort of nights when it's about Zayn.

Liam only starts talking when Louis fills his third glass.

"It's Perrie."Liam says as he's taking his glass from Louis and Louis raises a brow.

"What about her?"

"Zayn is talking to her again." Liam drinks the entire drink down and chuckles all bitterly, "why do I even like him?"

"Did Zayn tell you that?" Liam shakes his head and Louis knows that Liam must have spotted them between his classes, "maybe they were discussing something to do with their class?"

Liam shakes his head and places his glass down, "they hugged and I heard her friend telling her other friend how she's so happy they're giving each other one more chance and Zayn heard that. He just smiled," Liam whines as he grabs his glass, "I need more."

"You really do," Louis hands him the entire bottle and Liam chuckles quietly as he pour himself another glass.

"You're really lucky, Lou." He places the bottle down and looks back at Louis, "You met Harry and just few weeks later you're dating already."

"So you think I'm lucky because this happened in a short time?" Louis asks and Liam shrugs.

"Kind of. It's this and that you've found someone so perfect for you and you're so perfect for him too." Liam places his glass down and lays down on Louis’ bed.

"Liam?" Liam looks up at Louis, his eyes filled with tears, and Louis smiles gently, "Harry is perfect for me and I'm lucky to have him. But it wasn't easy. I have been looking for Harry since I was eighteen and I finally met him. I was being all ridiculous when I thought Harry wasn’t the same boy I saw but I didn't give up because someone told me not to give up. That someone also told me once a while ago to never give up on something I love. And it's you Liam, you were the one who told me that. So don't give up on Zayn, because Zayn might be intelligent but he can be really thick-headed sometimes.”

“But what if Zayn doesn’t like me?” Liam asks as he sits up, his voice sounding so small and he’s on the verge of tears. Louis pulls him closer and he instantly hides his face against Louis’ neck.

“Hey, it’s going to be alright. We both know how Zayn is. If you told him how you feel and he doesn’t feel the same, he won’t let it affect you two.” Louis is rubbing his back gently and Liam sniffles quietly.

“But I really love him, Louis.”

“Okay, how about I talk with Zayn and tell him that you saw him and Perrie? I will tell him we’re just wondering if they’re considering going back together.” Liam moves away and Louis smiles gently at him as he swipes away his tears.

“Can I be there when you ask him that?”

“Of course. But, can we go to sleep now?”

Liam laughs as he lays down at the middle of the bed, “sure, but I’m not moving.”

Louis hits him with a pillow and they end up pushing each other and laughing until they get tired and end up falling asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twitter: [sametolarry](https://twitter.com/sametolarry)  
> Twitter (personal): [oopshilouve](https://twitter.com/oopshilouve)
> 
> Thanks for reading, I love you ♡♡


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished editing the entire thing and decided to make the chapters shorter than what I had originally planned so this will have twelve chapters instead of nine.
> 
> Thank you for everyone who has been reading. :)

“So he’s no longer a crush and Liam loves him now?” Niall asks and Louis nods his head.

Niall scribbles some notes in his notebook, and Louis turns to lay down on his back, “So that’s why he slept here last night?”

“Yeah, he came here last night to talk to me about it.” Louis sighs and Niall hums.

“Remember when we went out for Zayn’s birthday?”       

“Yeah.”

“Zayn was leaning towards Liam more than he was leaning towards your side. Even when we were talking, he was paying attention to Liam the most. He was staring at him so lovingly, just like how Liam looks at him.” Niall says and Louis smiles because he had noticed that too. He hadn’t mention it to anyone though thinking that it was just his imagination and his hope that Zayn will end up with Liam.

“You noticed that too?”

“Yeah. I noticed yours and Harry’s stares too. They were on a whole new different level compared to Liam’s and Zayn’s stares. Seriously, get married already,” Niall grins, “glad to hear you two kissed.”

“Harry told you?” Louis asks and Niall nods his head.

“I told Zayn and Liam that you two will kiss before his birthday.” Niall says and Louis turns around at the mention of Harry’s birthday. He remembers the day they met Harry had told him his birthday is just in couple of weeks.

“When is his birthday?” Louis asks as he sips on his tea.

“After tomorrow.” Louis nearly spits his tea causing Niall to burst into laughter.

“It’s in two days?”

“Yup, it’s February first.” Niall confirms as he continues jotting few things down on his notebook.

“How come he didn’t tell me?”

“Beats me, I’m not Harry.” Niall hums, his attention entirely on his notebook.

Louis stares at Niall as he continues writing down whatever it is in his notebook, “What are you writing?”

“Ideas for songs,” Niall hums, “Can I write about you and Harry?”

“No.”

“Too bad. You two are already an inspiration for many songs. I can see it.” Niall grins and Louis’s about to protest when his phone rings and it’s Harry calling.

“Hey, you finished your classes?” Louis speaks straightaway, not giving Harry a chance to speak first.

“Yeah. You’re at home?” Harry asks.

“Niall is here as well unfortunately. Come over and help me, he’s really annoying.” Louis says and Niall starts laughing loudly.

Harry chuckles, “He’s really loud. I’m coming over in a bit.”

When Harry arrives later, Niall’s holding his guitar and practicing. Harry and Louis easily drift into their own conversations as Niall continues playing different things.

“Harry, I’ve decided to write songs about you and Louis. What do you think?” Niall asks as he places his guitar down.

“If you’ve already decided that why are you asking me about it?” Harry asks and Niall shrugs, “I’m okay with it―”

“No he isn’t. He’s just being nice to you Niall.” Louis interrupts and Harry laughs.

“You’re not okay with it?” Harry asks him and Louis shakes his head.

“It feels weird, him writing songs about us.”

“I think it’s nice. I mean he’s writing about us just now, when we have just started dating, and then later we could look back at it and have these songs as memories to remember how it all started.” Harry explains and Louis bits his lip as he looks down. Harry wants to be with Louis for a long time. He doesn’t know how long will they remain together, but the way Harry said it, it was as if he was certain they’re going to be together for a long time. Harry can already picture them together after a long time and it makes him happy knowing that Harry wants that as well.

“If you put it this way, I suppose it’s alright.” Louis mumbles.

Niall takes a sharp intake of breath, “Did this really happen? Did stubborn Louis Tomlinson actually change his mind? Harry, you’re the best thing to happen in our lives. Thank you.” Niall rambles and Harry laughs when Louis starts muttering how he needs new friends in his life.

Niall leaves a while later, leaving Harry and Louis sitting right by each other, watching tv. They stop watching it after they start getting into their own conversations and forgetting soon about the tv.

“You’ve been friends with Zayn since you were six?” Harry asks and Louis nods his head, “And when did you meet Liam?”

“This year it’ll be three years since we met. Zayn’s the one who met him in uni. He introduced him to me a while later but we got along very well.” Louis explains.

“Has Liam had a crush on Zayn ever since you met him?” Harry asks and Louis sighs as he turns off the tv.

“He did look at him with so much adoration, but whenever I teased him about it he used to deny it all the time. It was around a year later he finally told me that he realised he had a crush on him. And just recently he told me that he really loves him and wants to tell him that.” Louis says.

“Did Zayn ever tell you something? Because that night on his birthday I noticed the way he was paying more attention to Liam and the way he was staring at him was just like Liam’s stare.” Louis laughs when he hears Harry’s words because it seems everyone but Liam noticed that.

“I noticed that and so did Niall.”

Louis rests his head against Harry’s shoulder and smiles because Harry’s warm and comfortable, “I hope everything will work out for them.” Harry says and rests his head against Louis’.

They remain quiet after that and Louis doesn’t know when it happens, but they end up intertwining their hands, and Louis feels his heart fluttering again.

“What do you want to order for dinner?” Louis asks after a while and Harry moves a little bit to look at him.

“Why don’t I cook you something?” Harry offers and Louis smiles because when Harry had spent that day taking care of him while he was sick, he made him the most delicious meals he’s ever had.

“If I wasn’t shit at cooking, I would have tried cooking something for you.” Louis admits. Harry pecks his lips and gets up, pulling Louis towards the kitchen with him.

“What do you want?” Harry asks as he opens the refrigerator and Louis shrugs.

“Anything is fine.” Louis says. He remains quiet letting Harry see whatever he has in the fridge. Harry turns around later and sighs.

“Louis, there isn’t anything for me to cook you a proper dinner.” Harry pouts.

“I have no idea what’s in there. Zayn just gives me a list every now and then with the things I need. He gave me a list yesterday but I forgot about it.” He’s rummaging through one the drawers and grins when he finds the list, “here it is.”

He hands Harry the list when he comes by his side and Harry looks back at him, “why don’t we buy these things now?”

“Now?” Louis asks and he doesn’t want to. He wants to stay home, but Harry seems to have different plans.

“Please. I really want to make you a proper dinner.” Harry pleads and he’s pouting. Louis sighs because he can’t seem to find it in himself to tell Harry no while he’s pouting.

“Yeah, okay.” He mumbles and Harry shrieks in excitement, pulling Louis closer, and pressing a kiss against his lips.

Louis rolls his eyes at him and tell him to hurry up but only after getting one more kiss from him.

~~

“Did we get everything on the list?” Harry asks.

Louis takes the list out of his pocket and hands it to Harry. He’s waiting for Harry to check the list when he hears the shriek of girls and he knows he’s been spotted. True to his thoughts, when he turns around there are two girls staring at him.

He smiles gently and that encourages the two girls to get by his side, “Louis, we’re huge fans. We love you so, so much. Can we take a picture with you?”

“Of course, love.” Louis says and he doesn’t miss seeing their huge smiles.

“I can take the picture if you want.” Harry offers and Louis turns back and his eyes instantly fall on Harry’s huge grin.

“Oh my God, you’re Harry!” One of the girl shrieks.

“You know me?” Harry asks, tilting his head slightly to the side, and it’s the cutest thing Louis has seen.

The girl blushes and nods her head, “You’re Louis’ stylist. You’re really amazing.”

Harry smiles, his dimples fully on display, “that’s really sweet. Thank you.”

The girl blushes as she looks down, giggling softly, and Louis shouldn’t be jealous, but here he is with this unease feeling creeping up on him.

“He’s a charmer, isn’t he?” Louis forces a smile and the two girls giggle softly.

The two girls leave after taking the picture and Louis’ eyes immediately fall on Harry, “Can we leave now? Do we have everything?”

“Yeah―”

“Excuse me?” A voice interrupts them both and when they turn around it’s a woman who’s called them. She’s with a very young girl and Louis presumes her to be the woman’s daughter since they both share the same blonde hair and do have some similarities. She looks at Harry with a gentle smile, “Can you help me? I need something but I can’t reach it.”

Louis remains quiet as Harry grabs whatever it is the woman asked and he’s smiling when she thanks him. Harry kneels down and says something to the little girl which makes her giggle softly and her mother laughs. Louis notices the way the woman’s eyes linger on Harry more than necessary and the way she’s standing close to him, much closer to Louis’ likings, and the slight tint of pink of her cheeks as she smiles.

Louis huffs out a breath and he can’t take it anymore. He clears his throat and pretends to be using his phone when Harry looks back at him. He leaves them after that and reaches Louis’ side.

“We can leave now.” Harry says. When Louis notices how the woman is still staring at Harry, he feels ridiculous, but he pulls Harry’s hand and holds it tightly yet gently.

“You’re really charming, do you know that? She was all over you.” He tells him that and Harry smiles.

“She wasn’t. You’re just jealous, that’s why you’re holding my hands right now because she’s still looking at us.” Harry says but Louis doesn’t pay much attention to him. He turns to see the woman who’s still staring, but this time with a frown. Louis smirks when she meets his eyes and she quickly looks down and walks away.

“Did you really just do that?” Harry starts laughing and Louis shrugs, “You’re cute when you’re jealous.”

“I’m not jealous.” Louis tightens his grip on Harry’s hand and pulls him softly, “Come on, let’s leave.”

~~

When it’s morning, Louis wakes up to the slight murmurs coming from Harry in his sleep. He's on the verge of sleeping again when Harry moves his leg a little bit and Louis, even when his eyes are warning to shut any moment now, can't help it but smile when he realises their legs are still intertwined. He rubs his foot against Harry's ankle and Harry stops moving his leg. He smiles all loopy in his sleep and murmurs some incoherent words again.

He rubs his eyes and blinks them, a smile easily making its way across his face when his eyes land on Harry. His hair is all dishevelled from sleep and Louis can't help it but run a hand through his hair and pushes the strands falling on Harry's face back.

Harry slowly blinks his eyes open and smiles lazily as Louis runs his hand through his hair again.

"I'm guessing you like this?" Louis says when he notices Harry leaning into his touch and smiling wider.

Harry rubs his eyes and nods his head slightly, "I like anything from you."

Louis rolls his eyes softly and moves his hands, ignoring the way his heart seems to be fluttering again at Harry’s words. Harry turns around, grabbing his phone to check the time, while Louis turns to lay on his back and shuts his eyes for a while. He opens them when Harry pokes his cheek.

"Look." There’s a smile across his face as he hands him his phone and Louis raises a brow but grabs it nonetheless.

It’s a picture of him and Harry from last night. It’s slightly blurry but he could easily tell it was him and Harry, and Harry’s hands in his hands. Louis immediately recognises it and realises whoever that has taken this picture must have taken it while Louis was getting all jealous over the lady.

It’s nothing new; he has his pictures taken by his fans whenever they spot him and he’s just about to ask Harry why has he showed him this when everything finally seems to click in. This is a picture of him and Harry showing affection towards each other in public. Louis might have accidently outed himself.

“Please don’t tell me that I accidently outed myself.” Louis mumbles.

Harry presses a kiss against his cheek, “Nope.” He takes his phone back and searches for something, “Apparently the one who posted this was observing us the entire time and said that we didn’t do anything else. But, your fans apparently have other thoughts. They say we look cute together. See.”

Harry hands him his phone back and Louis recognises the familiar screen of Twitter. His eyes instantly fall on the trend Harry taps on. _Larry_. It’s just one word but Louis knows it’s the fans merging their names.

“Larry,” Louis repeats all quietly and Harry giggles softly as he places his phone away, “How did you find this so fast?”

“Niall sent it to me,” Harry explains as he intertwines his hand with Louis, “Now the entire world has witnessed what Louis Tomlinson does when he’s jealous―”

“I wasn’t jealous,” Louis repeats, “And why did Niall even send you that?”

Harry grins, “Said that I should show you the fans’ reaction and how his idea of writing songs about us is a great idea.”

“Tell Niall that I―”

They’re interrupted by the door being pushed open widely by Liam and him loudly shouting, “Louis, get up. Zayn has made you breakfast― oh, I’m so sorry Harry― Oh. OH SHIT!”

Liam quickly slams the door and shouts, “ZAYN! LOUIS SLEPT WITH HARRY LAST NIGHT!”

Louis sighs and Harry’s hiding his face in his hands, giggling all softly, “What did just happen?”

Louis notices the way Harry’s cheeks seem to be reddening and sighs again, “I’m so sorry.”

“No. It’s fine.” Harry finally removes his hands but his cheeks are a slight tint of pink and Louis pokes his cheeks slightly.

“I’m going to kill Liam.”

~~

Harry crosses his arms and puffs out his cheeks slightly, but he isn’t convincing at all with the way his eyes are shining and his smile still visible.

“I said I don’t want anything,” Harry tells him as Louis pulls him towards his room and pushes him to sit on the edge of the bed, “I mean it, Lou. Spending time with you, Niall, Liam, and Zayn was the best. I really don’t want anything.”

Louis hums quietly as he hands Harry a bag, “You can’t say no to a gift.”

“Louis―”

“No more whining. Look inside the bag.” Harry sighs, but complies, finally looks inside the bag.

Louis keeps his eyes focused on Harry and doesn’t miss seeing the way his eyes widen slightly. He looks back at Louis with a grin across his face.

“Louis.” Harry says it so softly, his voice slightly higher than usual. He looks back at the bag and he tenderly takes the headscarf out. It’s bright blue, with red skulls all over it. Harry’s holding it gently and he’s still smiling, “I love it.”

Louis moves closer and presses a kiss on top of his head, “Happy birthday, love.”

Harry looks back at Louis, and he speaks so softly and sincerely, “Louis, I really love it. It’s blue, just like your eyes.”

And there is something about this moment, because Harry’s looking at him so brightly, almost as if he’s the entire universe, and Louis has never experienced this before. He has never experienced this sort of feeling before.

He kisses Harry and when he leans back, Harry’s biting his lip from smiling even wider. And that pushes Louis to do it.

“Harry,” Louis takes in a breath and speaks really quickly, “Ireallywantyoutobemyboyfriend.”

Harry blinks and chuckles softly, “Don’t speak this fast.”

“I really want you to be my boyfriend.”

Harry remains still and stares at Louis with wide eyes. He drops the headscarf down on his lap and holds Louis’ hands, pulling him closer and reconnecting their lips. It lingers for a while and when they pull back Harry speaks, “I really want that.”

Louis pulls him in for another kiss and Harry smiles when they pull away and looks back at the scarf, then back at Louis, “I really want to try it on now. And I would really love it if you would put it on for me.”

Louis shakes his head slightly but presses another kiss against his forehead, “Of course.”

It takes him a while figuring out how to tie it the way Harry does, but Harry’s there and tells him what to do. He tugs it behind his head and then around his neck, tying it the best he can, holding Harry’s hair back.

He’s pleased with the results; Harry’s hair is all pushed back and his green eyes wide and exposed.

Harry smiles goofily at him and places his arms around his neck, pulling him closer for a kiss. It starts all softly, but then Louis is playing with the hair at back of his neck, pulling it softly, and Harry’s hand are resting against his waist. At one particular pull Harry lets out the prettiest sound and he pulls Louis closer. The bed dips when Harry falls on his back, with Louis on top of him, and they’re giggling to each other.

“You’re beautiful.” Louis tells him and then he’s kissing him again. He keeps on kissing him and then he deepens the final kiss, letting it linger. He only pulls back to catch his breath and yet breathing seems to be much difficult now seeing Harry’s much redder lips, matching his flushed red cheeks.

“I love you.” His eyes are bright and Louis’ filled with so much adoration towards the boy beneath him that he lets it slip without even realising it only after he has said it. Harry’s eyes widen and he opens his mouth, ready to explain everything, but Harry beats him to it.

“I love you too.” Louis smiles, any sort of nervousness he had fading away, being replaced with much more adoration and love towards his boy.

He connects their lips again and he can’t seem to keep his hands away from Harry’s curls this time. He plays with the hair at the back of his neck and softly pulls on the fabric of the headscarf and Harry whines softly. He gets this twist in his stomach when he pulls back and Harry’s face is all flushed, his lips red, and his green eyes so focused on Louis, “Don’t take it off.”

“I won’t.” Louis gets to say and then Harry’s pulling him again for another kiss. It lingers and soon deepens. And Louis’s still getting used to Harry, but he knows that playing with his hair does something to him because when he pulls it again, Harry lets out another long whine.

“ _Lou_.”

Fuck. He sounds so, _so pretty_.

“What is it, love?”

Harry doesn’t utter a word. Instead, he lets out another pretty whine and Louis’ thigh is between Harry’s legs when he pulls Louis closer to him and that’s when Louis feels it. Harry’s hard. Louis smirks and raises a brow at him, but he’s gentle and Harry smiles sheepishly.

“ _Louis_ ,” Harry repeats and his voice is even deeper than usual, and Louis gets this twist in his stomach again, “Please.”

“Please what?” Louis teases and Harry whines again.

“Don’t tease. Louis, I really want you.”

Louis can’t say no to that. Because the way his voice is sounding much deeper and the pretty whines Harry’s letting out make Louis lose all sort of control, “Are you sure?”

“Please, please.” Harry repeats and Louis kisses him softly.

He lets the kiss linger for a while as he runs his hand through Harry’s curls. He pulls back and presses a kiss against his forehead, “Have you done this before with a guy?”

“No, but I really want to with you.” Harry admits breathlessly and Louis pecks his lips all gently again.

“Neither have I. So we’re going to be really slow, yeah?” Harry nods his head and Louis smiles gently, “And if you feel uncomfortable and want me to stop, tell me, okay? I want this to be perfect for you.”

He feels Harry’s grip on his waist tightening, and he’s looking at Louis with so much adoration in his eyes that Louis is finding it unbelievable that all of this is real.

Louis still can’t believe that Harry is real.

~~

Louis wakes up to Harry’s warm body straddling him and pokes to his cheek. He keeps his eyes shut, pretending to be asleep, even when Harry presses a kiss against his cheek. He can’t stop himself from smiling and he hears Harry’s chuckles.

“You’re a terrible actor.” Harry’s rubbing his finger against his collarbone and his touches are warm and gentle.

“I’m not.” Louis finally opens his eyes and Harry’s there with his wild curls and green eyes staring at him with a grin plastered across his face.

“Then why did you smile?” Harry proceeds.

“Because I’m so good at acting I didn’t want to intimidate you.” Louis says with a grin and Harry shakes his head slightly.

“You’re good at acting. But you’re terrible at it when you’re with me.”

Harry does know him too well, because it’s true. He can’t control himself around Harry. Louis instead sighs, “If that’s what helps you sleep at night, then sure.”

Harry swats his chest softly and he’s giggling, “You’re unbelievable.”

Louis abruptly pulls Harry closer and Harry falls on top of him. He runs a hand through his hair and Harry immediately hides his face against the crook of his neck, “Go to sleep. Why did you even wake me up? It’s too early.”

“You didn’t even check to see the time.” Harry mumbles against his neck and Louis just scratches behind his ears, instantly earning a pleased sigh.

He easily relaxes at that and stays quiet, pleased with Louis’ touches. He had noticed that last night. Harry had been clinging to him and Louis was pressing kisses at the top of his head and running his hands through his hair which left Harry boneless against him. It had taken them a while to clean up with Harry refusing to move because he had been warm and comfortable against Louis. And even after they showered and got all cleaned up, Harry had snuggled close to him and sighed when Louis played with his hair.

“Lou,” Harry’s voice snaps Louis out of his thoughts and he’s still hiding his face against his neck as he speaks, “Thank you ―last night. You were really sweet and gentle, and it just made everything perfect.”

“I was just treating you the way you deserve to be treated, babe. You’re perfect, do you know that?” Louis runs his hand one last time through his hair.

“Yeah, I know that.” Harry moves back, meeting Louis’ eyes, and he’s smirking. Louis rolls his eyes softly but pulls him closer to press a quick kiss against his nose, “I want to make you breakfast.”

“But that requires you getting up from bed and you’re really warm.” Louis whines.

“Louis, I really want to. Please?” Harry pleads with a pout and Louis sighs in defeat because he can’t say no to that. And he’s certain that Harry knows that because he’s already grinning before Louis even speaks.

“Fine. Get up.” Harry shrieks in delight and gets up, pulling Louis up as well when he notices how he’s made no move to get up.

Louis goes through his closet and grabs a white shirt that’s too large for him and hands it to Harry to wear, “It should fit you. Cover that butterfly and don’t let it get cold.”

Harry doesn’t say word but he chuckles softly after he’s worn it, “It fits me well. I would love to see you wear this shirt one day and how big it would be on you.”

Louis smacks his chest softly and Harry can’t seem to stop himself from laughing.

Harry decides to make pancakes while Louis sits at the top of the counter and observes Harry. Harry’s flipping the last pancake when Louis wraps his arms around him from behind and rests his head on top of his shoulder. Harry leans back at his touch and rests his head against Louis’.

“You’re really good at cooking.” Louis says.

“I loved helping mum when I was younger. Learned a lot from her.” Harry explains and Louis smiles all gently at him when he notices the familiar gentle smile Harry has whenever he starts talking about his family.

He’s just about to speak when he hears the door unlocking and Liam’s and Zayn’s familiar voices, “We’re in the kitchen,” Louis shouts and presses a kiss against Harry’s cheek when Harry moves the final pancake to the plate with the other ones.

“Good morning. It smells really good in here.” Liam says as he enters the kitchen with Zayn.

“Harry made pancakes.”

“So you no longer need me?” Zayn asks.

“No. But Liam does need you.” Louis answers and Harry hums in agreement.

“He needs him in more than one way.” Harry whispers and Louis laughs at that causing Harry to grin proudly at him.

“I hate you both. You two are perfect for each other.” Liam mumbles and Zayn’s still confused, not having even the slightest clue on what’s going on around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twitter: [sametolarry](https://twitter.com/sametolarry)  
> Twitter (personal): [oopshilouve](https://twitter.com/oopshilouve)
> 
> Thanks for reading, I love you ♡♡


	6. Chapter 6

“Do you think they’ll like me?” Harry asks all quietly and Louis sighs. He holds Harry’s hand again and squeezes gently.

“Mum told me that if I didn’t bring you with me she won’t allow me to see Ernest and Doris. I’m pretty sure that if she didn’t like you she wouldn’t have told me that.” Louis explains, his voice shushed and quiet. They’re both standing right by the door to his mum’s room and the last thing he wants is for his mother to hear them.

Harry smiles timidly but he seems to be more confident now. He nods his head when Louis points to the door and he knocks the door softly and then he’s pushing it open. His eyes instantly fall on his mum in bed and Dan standing right by her bed, holding one of the twins.

She smiles when her eyes fall on Louis and her eyes are bright and gentle as she speaks, “Louis! Where is Harry?”

When Louis steps in, he squeezes Harry’s hand tightly one last time and pulls him in the room with him, “Mum, Dan,” Louis looks back at Harry with a smile and then once again back at them, “This is Harry.”

His mum smiles gently at Harry and Louis notices the way her eyes seem to soften and crinkle; she likes him. Louis has seen her do that to Zayn, Liam, and Niall the first time she met them. But there is something different with Harry. It’s something to do with the way her eyes seems to have this different glow in them, her stare filled with love knowing this is the cause of Louis’ happiness.

“Harry, I’m so happy you’re here. Come over here and tell me all about Louis.”

Harry chuckles softly and once he’s by her side, she immediately hugs him tightly, and his voice is sincere as he speaks, “I’m really happy to finally meet you.”

She’s still hugging Harry, whispering few things to him, when Louis looks back at Dan, “Can I finally see my brother and sister?”

“Doris is sleeping but your little brother is awake,” Dan says as he gently hands Louis Ernest.

Louis’ smile widens and his eyes soften and crinkle as soon as Ernest’s in his arms. He’s looking at Louis with so much curiosity, his eyes blinking so softly, his movements slow and languid. Louis rubs his thumb softly against his cheek and he’s soft and warm. Ernest blinks again and pushes his hand forward, reaching up, and Louis doesn’t know whether he’s reaching for the ceiling or for his older brother.

Louis hears Dan and Harry talking, but his little brother in his hands has his entire attention. When Louis holds his finger right next to Ernest’s little hand, he instantly closes his hand, his entire hand clutching tightly on Louis’ finger, and he’s smiling.

“You’re so strong.” Louis murmurs all quietly and he smiles all goofily at Ernest, earning him small adorable giggles from Ernest and then a smile.

“Sweetheart, go and eat with the girls. I have Louis and Harry here with me.” Louis turns to look at his mum as she says that and Dan nods his head. He promises to hurry up but Jay is persistent, telling him to stay with the girls and to take their time.

Louis glances towards Harry and doesn’t miss seeing the way his eyes seem to be glowing with affection and he’s smiling all fondly at him and Ernest. When he meets Louis’ eyes, Louis raises a brow and he’s still smiling.

“Hold him.” Louis moves closer to Harry, handing him Ernest, and Harry’s quiet as he holds Ernest in his arms, but his wide smile and bright eyes give away his true feelings.

"Louis Tomlinson, come and give your mother a hug." Jay grabs Louis’ attention and he smiles sheepishly at his mother but pulls her tightly for a hug.

He closes his eyes and a smile spreads across his face once he's in his mother arms and she's rubbing his back gently. Her warmth, comfort, and her soft touches are what makes Louis feel at ease.

"Harry's perfect." Jay whispers directly into his ear and when he leans back he sees the sincerity and happiness in her eyes.

Ernest's small soft giggles is what makes them both glance back at Harry, and Louis' stomach has this twist again. Ernest is touching the tips of Harry's hair and for Ernest, it's the most mesmerising thing he's ever seen. Harry's still smiling softly at him, his eyes full of fond, as he tickles him softly, earning more soft giggles from Ernest.

When he stops giggling, he seems to be trying to move closer to Harry, so Harry holds him closer, and then he's grabbing all softly with his tiny hand Harry's shirt, and lets out some small little sounds when Harry rubs his back.

"He likes you," Jay says, her voice higher than usual, just a sign indicating her happiness, "You're really good with kids."

"I really love babies." Harry replies and Louis pulls a chair closer to Jay's bed and tells him to sit there, while he sits at the edge of the bed, holding his mum's hand gently when she places her hand in his.

When Harry sits down, Ernest moves himself just a bit and his eyes fall on Jay. He starts crying and Harry hands him to Jay, knowing that the little boy needs his mother and feels the most content in his mother's arms.

He instantly quiets down when Jay holds him close to her chest, and she rubs his cheek gently, "Did you miss me?" She whispers all quietly and all he does is close his eyes and move closer.

"You're a needy boy, aren't you?" Louis says and Ernest blinks his eyes open when he hears Louis' voice but he doesn't move or does anything at all. Except when Louis scrunches up his nose, he closes his eyes again.

"Louis has a competition now for being the favourite son after twenty two years." Harry tells Jay and she starts laughing at that.

"I'll never have any competition, I'm always her favourite." Louis says with a confident smile and Jay shakes her head gently but doesn't say a word.

Instead, she starts asking Harry, "How is Louis? Is he a proper boyfriend or does he lack a few things?"

"Mum, you should be on my side and asking him if he's a proper boyfriend for me, not the other way—"

"I know he treats you properly because you told me that. Now be a good boy and let Harry talk." Jay interrupts and Louis sighs, not uttering a word.

It causes Harry to giggle, "Louis is perfect. He's the best boyfriend I could ever ask for."

Jay starts asking them more questions and after a while, there is a knock on the door, followed by the door being pushed open by Daisy and Phoebe. They shriek in excitement, rushing by Louis’ and Harry’s side.

They easily get along with Harry and seem to love him as they start asking him all sort of questions that they can come up with. Later, Fizzy and Lottie join them along with Dan, and both his sisters seem to be liking Harry too. Louis’s glad that his sisters seem to be liking Harry ―maybe liking him _too_ much when it comes to Lottie and he’ll have to do something about it― but he’s pleased to know that they all seem to be comfortable having him around.

~~

Louis knows that in ten minutes, the screams and shrieks of the girls will increase on a whole new level. Niall’s supposed to be in stage in around ten minutes yet here he is backstage handing Louis a sheet with the lyrics of his new song.

“What am I supposed to do with it?” Louis asks.

“Read it, the two of you.” Niall’s grinning and Louis looks at Harry and Harry’s frowning.

“Why only the two of us―”

“Just read it already.” Niall interrupts Harry and he sighs but starts reading it.

 _Friends_. It’s a simple title and Louis still doesn’t understand why he’s showing this to him and Harry. When they’re both finished with reading the lyrics, they look up at Niall and he’s still got that grin plastered across his face.

“You like it? I got the idea for the song and asked Ed to help me out with the writing.” Niall explains.

“It’s great, but why are you showing this to us?” Harry asks again and Niall bites his bottom lip, forcing himself from grinning even more.

“You two inspired me to write this.”

Harry doesn’t utter a word and so does Louis. It’s only after a few more moments that Louis finally breaks the silence, “You’re lying.”

Harry nods his head, “Yeah, just last month you told us you wanted to write about us and you started the rehearsals for your tour around the same time as well. There was no time for you to write this song and add it to the rehearsals in such a short time.”

Niall smiles all sheepishly when he speaks next, “When I asked you that, I had already written the song and got everything finalised. I just thought of letting you know. I wrote this song the day I came to see the play and saw you both interacting and yeah, you just inspired me.”

“Niall, I hate you.” Louis says it but he doesn’t mean it and isn’t convincing at all with his smile.

With only five minutes left, Niall is called. He doesn’t leave until they all wish him the best and he’s told Liam and Zayn about the song. The four of them head to their seats afterwards, Louis between Harry and Liam, with Zayn next to Liam.

He’s got a very loud crowd. The girls’ screams and shrieks get higher and louder when Niall’s onstage. He’s confident walking around the stage with his guitar and singing, with his fans singing along and rarely remaining quiet. And it’s the perfect match for Niall. He’s loud and cheerful, and so are his fans.

There are only couple of more songs left when he announces he’ll be singing a new song. It gets the fans to scream louder and Harry bumps into Louis’ side gently.

Somehow the fans quiet down and Niall starts playing his guitar with that familiar grin across his face, and starts singing.

“ _We're not, no we're not friends, nor have we ever been._

_We just try to keep those secrets in a lie,_

_And if they find out, will it all go wrong?_

_And Heaven knows, no one wants it to_.”

In the middle of his singing, Harry intertwines his hand with Louis’ and he squeezes tightly.

“ _Friends just sleep in another bed,_

_And friends don't treat me like you do._

_Well I know that there's a limit to everything,_

_But my friends won't love me like you._

_No, my friends won't love me like you._ ”

~~

Louis’ got his tongue out between his lips, his eyes focused on the milk as he pours just enough before he starts mashing the potatoes.

“Do you want me to―” Harry starts but stops when Louis turns around to look at him, instantly shushing him.

“One more word and I’m kicking you out of this kitchen.” Louis goes back to mashing the potatoes and he hears Harry sighing.

“Have you really never cooked before?” Harry asks and Louis shakes his head.

“Not really. I’m shit at cooking, it’s just I thought I would give it a chance, to try it for you.” Louis answers him and Harry remains quiet for a while.

Eventually, Louis looks back at him to see Harry taking photos of him, “This is something I’ll always remember.”

“Glad you found something to distract yourself so you would stop annoying me.” Louis laughs when Harry frowns and explains how he’s genuinely worried but Louis remains quiet.

Instead he waits until Harry’s attention is back to his phone to tease him, “Harry, can you help me with something?”

Harry immediately looks up, a smile across his face and he moves closer to Louis, “What is it?”

“Never mind, I just changed my mind.” Louis starts laughing when Harry frowns and swats his arm lightly.

“Be nice to me.” Harry whines as he wraps his arms around Louis, resting his head on top of his shoulder and observing him as he continues turning the chicken around and continuing with the rest of the meal.

“I’m cooking you something. You should be nice to me.”

Harry stays quiet, his arms around Louis, and slowly he starts lowering his hand. His hand reaches Louis’ hand, and Louis doesn’t move his hand. He knows Harry’s trying to reach his hand to take whatever it is Louis’s holding to help him in cooking the meal but Louis isn’t allowing him.

Louis swats his hand and Harry whines, “I’m the one cooking tonight. I won’t be cooking anything for a while, so really, leave me to cook this entirely.”

“I’m sure you won’t cook ever again.” Harry mumbles and Louis shrugs because he knows it’s most likely true. He really seems to be out of place in here. All he’s doing is following his mother’s recipe and instructions, and he doesn’t know if this is turning out to be alright or not. And he isn’t really excited about the cooking aspect; he’s only excited to be cooking for Harry.

Harry’s setting the table when Louis is done with cooking the meal. He lets his eyes linger on Harry as he places the plates and gets the table ready, even lighting up candles for this occasion, and he’s humming all quietly to himself. Louis bites his lip but he can’t seem to stop himself from smiling and his eyes crinkling.

~~

“I’m not believing you anymore.” Harry mumbles as he lowers his arm to rest his hands against the small of Louis’ back. Louis raises a brow and Harry giggles, “You told me you’re terrible at cooking but your cooking today was really good.”

“You’re just saying this.” Louis doesn’t miss seeing Harry’s frown and with Louis already laying on top of him, their faces are now so close to each other when Harry pulls him even closer.

“I mean it.” Harry closes the space between them both and kisses him fervently. Eventually they pull back and Harry pushes Louis’ hair back, ruffling his hair softly. Louis ends up hiding his face against the crook of Harry’s neck, allowing him to ruffle his hair and run his hands through it.

Louis sighs, pleased and at ease with how his surrounding is just _HarryHarryHarry_. Harry’s holding him gently and the pillows just have that familiar comfortable scent of Harry, and Louis loves it. He loves that he’s staying at Harry’s for the very first time and to have his entire surroundings having traces and touches of Harry.

Having Harry holding him closely and his thoughts only revolving around Harry now, Louis realises that the one particular thing he had decided on telling Harry about today has still not been brought up by him. He takes a long breath and decides that now’s the time. He moves away and sits in bed, pulling Harry to sit as well, and Harry’s looking at Louis all curiously. He’s got his brows furrowed so Louis leans in, pressing a quick kiss to his lips to ease him and just letting him know that it’s alright and he has nothing to worry about.

“I want to come out.” Louis blurts it out straightaway and Harry holds his hand gently.

“And?” Harry waits and Louis’s confused, not having the slightest clue on what Harry wants him to say.

“And?”

Harry smiles when he notices Louis’ confusion and shakes his head slightly, “Do you want to reveal our relationship to the public as well, or just coming out and then that?”

Louis squeezes Harry’s hand, “I want that. But if you don’t want to right now―”

“I really want to tell the entire world that I’m Louis Tomlinson’s boyfriend.” Harry interrupts him.

Louis remains quiet, letting his eyes linger on Harry, and then he’s chuckling. He’s happy and yet nervous about all of this. And he knows deep down, a part of him is scared. He doesn’t know how his fans will react and how will it all go and change.

Harry must have sensed that because the next thing he knows, Harry’s pulling him for a hug and Louis lets himself be held by Harry tightly. He wraps his arms around Harry tightly and hides his face against his neck as Harry rubs his back all gently.

“I really want to do it now, I know I’m ready. But, I think I’m scared and I don’t know. Should I really come out even when I’m feeling like this or should I wait?” Louis admits all quietly and Harry presses a kiss on top of his head.

“It’s okay to be scared. I was scared when I came out. I knew I was a gay for a while but I just wasn’t ready to tell anyone yet. I was scared that nobody would accept me and I won’t have anyone. I let that hold me back until eventually I realised that if I let this hold me back, I’ll never come out. It’s alright to be scared and nervous at these times because you really never know how the people around you will react until it actually happens. But, don’t let it hold you back, Lou.” Harry moves back, pulling Louis away, and meeting his eyes as he continues, “You know you’re ready and you want to do it, so do it. You’ve got your family’s support and Zayn’s, Liam’s, and Niall’s support. And me. We’ll always support you.”

Louis’s lost for words. He remains still in his place until his mind seems to be finally working again and the first thing he does is kiss Harry. He kisses him deeply and when he pulls back, Harry’s hands are resting against his hips underneath his shirt and Harry’s pulling him in for a short kiss. Followed by another. And another.

Louis pushes Harry back and Harry easily complies, laying down with Louis on top of him pressing kisses against his jaw.

It’s all soft kisses but it soon changes when Louis sucks on one particular spot and Harry lets out a long whine.

“ _Louis_.”

Louis doesn’t stop and continues pressing more slow wet kisses against his collarbone and chest, even when Harry starts letting out these slow soft whines. He presses one more soft kiss and bites down at that particular spot. Harry tilts his head back and he’s still making these pretty soft sounds.

Louis blows softly at that spot and when he leans back, he gets that low twist in his stomach again when his eyes fall on Harry. He’s all flushed, his hair sticking to his forehead, letting out quick breaths, and his lips are slightly parted.

“Fuck,” Louis pushes Harry’s hair away and runs his hand through Harry’s hair, “You’re gorgeous.”

~~

 _6:40_. Louis lets out a long breath when he looks at the time, “Twenty minutes left.”

Harry nods his head and Louis doesn’t miss seeing the way his hands seem to be shaking slightly, “We should take the picture,” Harry says, his voice wavering just a bit, and Louis nods his head.

The rest of the boys are here offering gentle reassuring smiles. They’ve all gathered at Louis’ for this occasion. They insisted on coming telling them they need to be there with them to support them and help them if they need anything.

And they did help them. They helped him and Harry forget about all of this for a while with Zayn’s and Liam’s attempts in baking and failing miserably, and with Niall’s loud laugher and remarks whenever he noticed Liam staring at Zayn for too long. Now when it’s happening, they’re still here.

“Can I take the picture? Please?” Niall pleads and he shrieks when he gets told a _yes_ , causing Zayn and Liam to laugh.

“Why are you so excited?” Harry asks him when Louis hands him his phone and Niall grins.

“Because I love you two.” Louis and Harry groan while Niall chuckles.

Harry’s smiling tentatively when Louis looks at him, so he intertwines his hand with Harry’s and squeezes gently, and that seems to calm Harry down. He smiles more confidently now and kisses Louis gently.

“You’re ready?” Louis asks and Harry nods his head.

Harry scoots closer to Louis, their knees touching, and their hands intertwined. Niall takes a picture then and continues even when Louis presses a quick kiss against Harry’s cheek.

“Okay, Niall, you can stop taking the pictures.” Louis tells him when he notices that he’s still taking pictures and he continues taking pictures, grinning even more when they start laughing and telling him to stop between their laugher.

“Good luck choosing one. I took many of them.” Niall hands Louis his phone and there are over twenty photos of them taken.

“Thanks.” Louis mumbles quietly and he lets out a breath as he gets up from the sofa along with Harry, “We’ll go to choose a picture.”

“If you need anything, we’ll be here.” Liam tells them and Niall nods his head in agreement.

“We’re not going anywhere.” Zayn adds and Harry thanks them one more time and then Louis’s pulling him towards his room, and urging him to sit by his side at the edge of the bed.

They spend the next ten minutes choosing a photo. The first ones were just them sitting next to each other and then there were was the one Louis kissing Harry, and Harry smiling. He continued taking them even after they started laughing and the last photos were of them laughing

They end up choosing the one taken right after Louis had kissed Harry. They’re both looking at each other, their hands still intertwined, smiles present across their faces; it was the perfect picture to choose.

“Three minutes.” Harry whispers as he rests his head on top of Louis’ shoulder.

In three minutes, Louis’s going to post this picture. In three minutes, it’ll be three months since they both met. They both decided to post the photo at exactly seven because it was around seven three months ago when Louis heard Harry’s voice asking for him.

They settle on not choosing any filter in Instagram and then Louis’s typing the caption:

“ _I love you, @harrystyles._ ”

Harry looks back at Louis with a gentle smile, “One minute.”

The minute passes by quick and Louis looks at Harry one last time and then he’s posting the picture. He lets out a long breath once the picture has been posted and immediately locks his phone when he starts getting notifications.

Louis has just come out.

He looks at Harry and chuckles, “Everyone knows about us now.”

Harry nods his head and Louis notices how his eyes don’t seem to be dry anymore. They laugh when they hear Niall, Zayn, and Liam cheering loudly outside and then Niall shouting “ _It’s a great picture. You’re welcome._ ”

Harry squeezes Louis’ hand and pulls him for a kiss.

“I love you.”

~~

“You impressed me again today, Niall.” Liam tells Niall as he drops himself against Zayn.

“Niall’s always impressive, Payno.” Louis nudges Liam away and sits between him and Harry. Niall laughs when Liam glares at Louis when he ruffles his hair and Louis smirks as he rests his head against Harry’s shoulder.

“You’re just saying this ‘cause he wrote a song about you two.” Liam says and Louis hums.

“Someone’s jealous.” Harry singsongs and Louis grins as he intertwines his hand with Harry.

Niall’s laughing again, louder this time, when Liam mutters how Louis’s going to corrupt Harry and then Louis’s threatening to push him off the sofa.

“Anyway, I want to write a song about you two.” Niall interrupts. He drops his arm around Zayn and looks back at Liam.

“Us?” Liam asks, pointing to him and Zayn, and Niall nods his head, “But we’re not Harry and Louis.”

“Wow. Bravo Liam. I would have never known that.” Louis replies and Liam sighs at Louis’ remark.

Niall giggles, “I just want to write about you two and yet you two haven’t dated anyone in such a long time.”

Niall winks at Louis and Louis knows where this is going; they’re going to make Zayn talk about Perrie. He nudges Liam softly by his elbow, and when Liam looks at him, he smiles and somehow Liam seems to realise where this is going.

“Yeah.” Liam mumbles and then he’s looking at Louis with a frown.

“Zayn, you didn’t go out with anyone after Perrie, right?” Louis asks and Zayn nods his head and smiles sheepishly.

“No, but me and Perrie are giving each other a second chance.” Zayn explains, his voice quiet as he looks down, purposely not meeting Louis’ gaze. Niall’s eyes widen at Zayn’s answer while Louis forces himself to calm down as he takes a deep breath.

“See, I told you that.” Liam tells Louis, faking his excitement, as he looks at Louis with a grin but Louis can easily see that Liam’s hurt by this.

“How did you know?” Zayn asks and Liam laughs, covering up his sadness, and Louis wraps an arm around Liam, rubbing his shoulder gently.

“Liam was stalking you.” Louis says, and he’s glad he’s good at acting and pretending because if it weren’t for it, Zayn would have easily noticed his voice wavering slightly at that. It isn’t easy for him to tease Liam with the way Liam’s leaning into his touch and dropping himself against Louis, like Louis’ the only thing preventing him from breaking down right this moment.

And he’s glad that he has Harry and that Harry knows him too well, because he laughs when Louis says that. Louis doesn’t miss seeing him winking at Niall and Niall easily understands and goes along, laughing loudly as well.

Niall mentions how he should probably write a song on how Louis makes Harry laugh loudly and Harry gets Zayn involved in their conversation by suggesting that Niall should write songs about Louis only and how Zayn should reveal everything Louis did when he was young. And he doesn’t know what they continue saying, but what he knows is that Harry managed to make sure Zayn’s attention is away from Louis and most importantly, Liam.

Louis rubs Liam’s shoulder gently and whispers all quietly to him that it’s going to be alright. It hurts him when he hears Liam telling him it won’t be in a quiet broken voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twitter: [sametolarry](https://twitter.com/sametolarry)  
> Twitter (personal): [oopshilouve](https://twitter.com/oopshilouve)
> 
> Thanks for reading, I love you ♡♡


	7. Chapter 7

“Liam, he’s a piece of shit.” Louis whines and Liam shakes his head.

“He’s a piece of perfection.” Liam argues and Louis raises a brow.

“Like I said, a piece of ―”

“Perfection.”

“Shit.”

Liam glares at Louis as he smirks, finally getting a proper reaction from Liam, “He’s your friend and you’re calling him that?”

“As if I don’t call you worse things right in front of you.” Liam sighs in defeat, knowing Louis’s right, and stays quiet.

It hurts Louis seeing Liam like this with his lips jutting out, his eyes droopy and sad, and he truly looks like a sad puppy that’s been kicked. "Hey Li?" Louis' voice is really soft when he speaks, a tone he rarely uses. It makes Liam lift his head and look at him with a pout, "Liam, I love you."

"I don't want to hear that from you. I want to hear it from Zayn." Liam groans, crossing his arms against his chest, and letting his gaze fall on the ground again.

Louis frowns and he's just about to speak when Harry rushes from the kitchen and kneels down in front of Liam. He's got his hair all tied back in a bun, his eyes soft as he speaks to Liam, "Liam, do you prefer blueberries or raspberries?" Harry holds Liam's hand gently and squeezes, encouraging him to get an answer.

"Strawberries." Harry's eyes widen at Liam's answer and blinks a few times.

"Okay, okay. Strawberries." Harry mumbles all quietly to himself as he gets up and runs back to the kitchen.

"What was that?" Liam asks and Louis shrugs. He has no idea what Harry's doing and his strange questions. He ignores it and decides it's finally time to tell Liam what he's been wanting to say.

"Zayn cheated on Perrie last year." Louis announces loudly. Immediately, he has grabbed Liam's attention whose eyes have widened.

He hears rushed footsteps coming from the kitchen followed by Harry peaking by the door, "Can I?"

It endures Louis how even though he could have stayed and overheard them, he still came to ask to know if he should be hearing this or was it something between him and Liam only. He knows if he tells him no, he'll shut the kitchen door and probably sing to himself or do whatever it is to stop himself from hearing them.

Louis pats the empty space next to him, "Come here."

Harry quickly makes his way next to Louis and Liam nudges his knee, "Talk. I have to know."

"It happened when we went to that club last year to celebrate when I ended my summer play. I saw Zayn kissing a blonde girl and I thought it was Perrie first, but then I saw her face and yeah, it wasn't her." The memories quickly flood back to Louis as he starts explaining everything. Zayn and Perrie had left them for a while and just when they were about to order another round of drinks, Louis got up to go for a quick wee, but he stumbled upon this instead.

"Does Perrie know?" Harry asks and Louis chuckles.

"When Zayn saw me he was calm about everything and I got angry. I asked him about Perrie and he just smiled and said 'she is cool about it.' And I thought Zayn might have lost his mind but then Perrie came that moment and saw how close the two were and she knew what happened. But she really didn’t care.'"

"Then I talked with Zayn that night. He told me he was never close to Perrie. They drifted away from each other just few weeks after they started dating and they had a talk about this. They just remained together because many told him Perrie seems perfect for him and Perrie liked showing off Zayn and how handsome her boyfriend is. So yeah, that pretty much sums up their entire fucked up relationship."

"Then why did Zayn remain with her?" Liam asks and Louis lets out a long breath.

"He's not confident at all when it comes to Perrie because he likes her. He had a huge crush on her and when they started dating he was the happiest he could ever be. Then after a few weeks he saw how distant they were and he was really upset about it until he and Perrie talked about it. That's why he agreed to remain together even when she clearly told him she just want to show him off. And he was happy about it, how Perrie is happy about all of this going her way. It took me such a long time to convince him to leave her and now look at that stupid fucking boy telling me he's giving her a second chance." Louis huffs out a breath and hears Harry sighing next to him.

"How is he okay with that? How is he okay being with someone who doesn't like him while knowing it?" Harry asks and Louis knows it isn't a question directed at him, but at Zayn.

He's just about to answer, to tell Harry he's wondered the same when Liam beats him to it.

"Because he hasn't experienced love but you have."

It leaves them speechless because it's true. He and Harry have experienced and understood love and its true definition. Love isn't limited to the other's appearance, but it's much more. Love is much wider than that. Love involves all that's right, good, and beautiful. It's the way he smiles when he realises how he's memorised all of Harry's little details. It's the way his stomach twists whenever his name is mentioned with Harry's. It's the way how home no longer relates to a place, but to a person. It's the way he wakes up and goes to sleep knowing Harry feels just the same.

And maybe Liam isn't dating Zayn, but he is experiencing it. He's experiencing it with the way he can't stop himself from smiling and blushing whenever Zayn laughs. It's the way he leans towards Zayn when they're all sitting next to each other. It's the way he lets his eyes linger on Zayn even when he's no longer talking just to smile at him.

"We're lucky." Harry whispers all quietly.

A loud ring interrupts them and Harry dashes back to the kitchen. Louis frowns at Harry while Liam scratches his head.

"What is he doing?" Liam asks again, slumping back against the sofa, "Why did you tell me all of this?"

Louis drops an arm around Liam and squeezes his shoulder gently, "Their relationship isn't _real_ , Liam. And if they are really giving themselves another chance, I can tell you from now that after their first date Zayn is going to come to me and tell me he made a huge mistake. He might still like her but he has also realised that their relationship wasn't healthy at all."

Louis notices the way Liam's body relaxes at that, the tension fading away, and a little smile making its way across his face, "You think if all of that really happens and then I get to tell him what I feel about him he'll go out with me?" Liam's voice is low, his gaze falling to the floor, and his cheeks turning a tint of pink.

"Ahh, someone's blushing." Louis teases and Liam swats his arm away, "I haven't talked with Zayn about any of this, but I think he might have a thing for you."

"You're lying." Liam pouts again and speaks in a much lower voice, "But say we do actually go out, what if he cheats like he did with Perrie?"

"Hey," Louis nudges him until he looks back at him, "Zayn _cheated_ on Perrie because she was okay with that. Their relationship didn't go beyond calling each other _girlfriend_ and _boyfriend_. That's why they were okay with each other being with other people during the time they were together."

Liam offers a small smile, but that won't do, so Louis puts his arm around him and pulls him closer, "But if he does that and break your heart, then I'll break his pretty face. How does that sound?"

Liam's eyes widen, shining with curiosity, and he really does look like a puppy now, "You'll do that for me? Even though you've been friends with Zayn much longer?"

"Yeah because if someone hurts Liam Payne it doesn't matter if I've known them for a long time, I'll still make them regret it." Louis softly explains. It makes Liam smile, genuinely this time, as he pulls Louis for a tight hug.

"Thank you." He mumbles, his voice muffled and Louis ruffles his short hair.

Harry's humming to himself as he comes and stops when he notices the sight in front of him. His gentle smile melts Louis' heart and then Harry's grinning as he shows him what he's got in his hands. He's got a plate filled with cookies in one hand and the other filled with cupcakes with white frosting and pieces of strawberries on top. _That's why he asked Liam_.

"Liam," Harry starts as he places the plates on the coffee table. Liam moves back and raises his brows at the two plates, "I made you cookies and cupcakes with strawberry, just like you said."

Harry's eyes are bright as his smile when he sees the way Liam's smile widens, "To make me feel better?"

"To make you feel better." Harry confirms, "And if you want, we can go and see kittens and puppies. They make everything better."

Liam nods his head eagerly, "I want to see them. Now."

"Okay,” Harry stands up and looks at Louis, “Come on, get up. Let’s go and see puppies and kittens”

Louis laughs at the way they both start whining when they see he hasn’t moved, “I feel like I’m dealing with little babies right now.”

~~

“Louis, look at her. _So cute_.” Harry coos as he rubs the tiny kitten just behind her ear and she purrs as she closes her eyes. She’s grey with stripes that are a shade darker. Her eyes are closed now as she leans into Harry’s touch, but it’s blue behind her eyelids. Her nose is pink and tiny, and she herself is really tiny. She fits Harry’s hand perfectly and Louis doesn’t know if she really is tiny or it’s because of Harry’s gigantic hands.

He’s got his bottom lip jutting out as he continues rubbing her tenderly. He looks back at Louis and tilts his head to the side, pressing his lips together.

“I want her.” Harry tells Louis and she meows once Harry stops rubbing her. When he starts rubbing her again, she purrs quietly.

Louis sighs exasperatedly, “I thought we came here to make Liam feel better and not for you to get a kitten that’ll steal you from me.”

“You wouldn’t believe the amount of things I’ve found for Eddie.” Louis turns around when he hears Liam’s voice and smiles at the ridiculous amount of toys and food cans he’s holding.

“Liam, isn’t Lucie the cutest kitten ever?” Harry steps right in front of Liam to show him the kitten and Liam’s eyes soften.

“Awh, she’s so adorable.” Liam coos as she starts nuzzling her nose against Harry’s hand again.

“You’ve named her already?” Louis asks and Harry smiles sheepishly.

“But puppies are cuter.” Harry pouts as soon as he hears Liam and Louis bites his lips, stifling himself from laughing at Harry's glare.

“Don’t listen to him, he just prefers dogs. I love cats and dogs equally.” Harry whispers to the kitten as she starts staring at Harry with her bright blue eyes.

“If you love them equally then get a puppy as well.” Liam chimes and Louis swats his arm.

“Don’t give him ideas.” Louis murmurs to Liam as he starts laughing when Harry turns to look at the puppies. He takes a step and Louis pulls him back, “No.”

Harry whines, “But Louis, it’s just one puppy and one kitten.”

“Nope. Only one.”

“Two?”

“One.” Harry sighs in defeat and nods his head.

“Yeah, just one,” He smiles as the kitten purrs, “This one.”

They spend the next minutes with Harry picking variety of food for her ― _She shouldn’t eat the same thing every day, Lou!_ ― and a huge collection of toys. Once they’ve got everything sorted out, they leave the pet shop with a kitten in Harry’s hand, and a huge bag filled with various types of cat food and toys in Louis’ hand.

~~

Louis wakes up to the loud ringing of his phone and he buries his face into the pillow, hoping whoever is calling would hang up soon.

Harry nudges Louis and mumbles half asleep, his voice thick with sleep, “Lou, your phone.

“Fuck everything.” Louis’ voice muffled against the pillows and Harry lets out a long breath. He moves and straddles Louis, pressing a quick kiss against his cheek, and grabs his phone. He answers it and places the phone right against Louis’ ear, but Louis remains quiet, his eyes closed, and face still buried into the pillow.

"Louis?"

Louis rubs his eyes when he hears his mother's voice and holds his phone as Harry lays on top of him. He rubs Harry's back gently and finally answers his mum. "Good morning." Louis clears his throat when his voice comes out all croaky.

"I had a feeling I would wake you up. But listen, Harry needs to be here for the wedding." Jay says all cheerfully and Louis sighs.

"Please tell me this isn't the only reason you called." Louis whines and he hears her giggling over the phone.

"He'll probably be visiting his family during his summer break so he needs to know about the wedding as soon as possible." Jay explains and Louis' eyes widen when he realises how close Harry’s summer holiday is; how close it is until Harry leaves.

"Oh." Is all he manages to mutter and he’s failing to hide the disappointment in his voice. He hears his mother sighing all quietly.

"You didn't think about him leaving up until now." She says and it isn’t a question. Louis bites his lips when he glimpses at Harry to see his eyes closed, smile across his face, and he's ready to fall back asleep.

“Louis, sweetheart, talk with him about this. I know I shouldn’t get involved, but you need to talk to him about this. He’s leaving for a while and depending on what you two do during that time, you’ll either get closer to each other once he returns, or you’ll start drifting away. I know you don’t want to hear this so early in the morning, but love, I want the best for you. Promise me you’ll talk to him soon.” Louis smiles at his mother’s sincereness and kindness as he rubs his hand against Harry’s back.

“Yeah, I will.”

“I’ll talk to you later, love. Go get some more sleep.”

“Bye, mum. Love you.” Jay hangs up and Louis sighs. Everything had been perfect so far. He and Harry got on really well, sticking to each other at every possible chance, and Louis’ stomach still flips when Harry shoots him a grin.

Yet it seems as if everything might start crumbling soon. He loves Harry, and it’s… _scary_. He’s willing to do anything for Harry; to give him all he could just to be by his side. He knows Harry. He knows he’s got a heart made of gold and he doesn’t want to ever break his heart. And he’s scared because he loves him. He loves him way too much for two people that only met couple of months ago.

It’s all going too fast and maybe it’s _too fast_ for Harry. Louis has gotten used to his hectic schedules and lifestyle a long time ago when he was much younger. But Harry isn’t. Harry was raised in a much quieter, comfortable, and steady way. He didn’t have to go through being under the spotlight when he was just eighteen years old, barely holding on to the hand of a girl he had to pretend to love to stop rumours he wasn’t bothered of in the first place. It was much simpler for Harry. He probably dated a few ―probably plenty with his charming personality― and never had to sneak around while going anywhere for privacy.

He’s busy with his thoughts running through his mind that he doesn’t realise when he has stopped running his hand through Harry’s curls and had been just absentmindedly pulling on the hair at the back of his neck and twirling it around his finger.

“What’s running through your mind?” Harry asks and Louis ignores his question.

“You’ve let your hair grow taller.” He removes his hand once Harry moves to straddle him and as an instinct, Louis’ immediate response is to wrap his arms around Harry’s middle.

It shouldn’t affect him as much, but he can’t help it but whine when he realises that his instant reaction was to hold Harry closer.

He isn’t ready for this to be taken away from him. He won’t have Harry in the morning, with warm tea and cuddles. He won’t have Harry backstage with a proud smile and encouraging words. He won’t have Harry’s warm body pressed right against him on the sofa with the rest of the boys around. He won’t have Harry at night, sleepy and clingy, kissing Louis goodnight.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Harry asks, his voice filled with concern as he starts rubbing Louis’ shoulder gently.

It calms Louis and he can’t help it but rub his thumb softly against a mark he left the night before on top of Harry’s thighs, where his boxer brief has ridden, and whispers all quietly, “Summer.”

Harry intertwines his hands with Louis’ and squeezing gently, encouraging Louis to talk.

“You’re going to visit your family, right?” Louis asks and Harry nods, “Mum’s wedding is in July. I want you there for the wedding.”

Harry shoots him a grin, “I’ll definitely be there.”

 _That’s not it_. He wants to tell him that, yet he can’t even form the right words in his mind to tell Harry how he’s not ready for summer; how he’s not ready to tell him goodbye.

Fortunately, it’s the purrs of their kitten that disturbs the moment.

“Lucie? What’s the matter sweetheart? You hungry cutie?” Harry coos as he moves to the side of the bed and picks Lucie, who’s made her way to the side of the bed, meowing and craving Harry’s attention because as soon as she’s in Harry’s arm, she’s quiet and leaning into Harry’s touches.

“So I’ve been replaced.” Louis says and it causes Harry to turn around, Lucie still in his arms, and he smiles gently.

“No one can ever replace you.” Harry kisses Louis’ cheeks and that’s when Lucie starts meowing again.

“I guess she’s hungry?” Louis asks and Harry smiles gently as he continues rubbing her gently.

“Let’s feed her. Get up.”

~~

Louis huffs out a breath, pinching the bridge of his nose sharply.

“You can’t just keep on doing this,” Harry says as he runs his hand through his hair, “You’ve been doing this for three days. I just want to know what’s going on. I care about you.”

“And you think I don’t care about you?” As soon as the words are out of his mouth, Louis regrets it. He’s been ridiculous, snapping at Harry when all he did was ask him what’s been bothering him. He’s being unreasonable not telling Harry any of his concerns while clearly Harry has been bothered by all of this.

Harry clenches his fist and sighs, “I never said that you don’t care about me. But now I’m starting to doubt it.”

“Fine, doubt it.” Louis replies, his voice cold and harsh, sounding unfamiliar even to himself. He’s frustrated and annoyed at himself yet all he’s doing is letting it all out on Harry. He’s been stressed and busy with his newest play’s rehearsals, production, and the decision of adding more dates for the play. He deserves it if Harry really is starting to doubt all of this.

“Fuck, Louis, you’re just ridiculous. You’ve been pushing me away these last couple of days and I thought that if there is something bothering you, you would tell me if I gave you time. If you don’t want to talk about it, it’s fine Louis, I just wanted to remind you that you have me. If you don’t want to tell me about it, then just fucking tell me that you don’t want to. It isn’t really difficult. All I wanted to do was to help you with whatever that’s been on your mind bothering you.” Harry’s loud and Louis has never seen him like this before.

“It hasn’t been easy to tell you because it’s you. It’s fucking you that’s been on my mind these last three days.” Harry’s eyes widen, disappointment clearly written across his face when he hears Louis’ loud, harsh words. He looks down immediately, and clenches his fist. _Fuck_. He messed up. It’s true that Harry’s been on his mind, yet the way Louis said it made it seem as if Harry’s been _bothering him_.

Louis’ phone starts ringing loudly and Louis doesn’t have to check it to know it’s definitely Scott telling him not be late for the rehearsals. He ignores it when he notices the way Harry hasn’t moved the tiniest bit ever since those words got out of his mouth.

“Harry―” Louis’ voice is much lower, trying to find a way to explain everything, but Harry doesn’t let him finish.

“You’re going to be late for your rehearsals. Don’t want you to waste your time talking to me and then getting late. That’ll just give you more reasons to get all bothered by me.” Harry says, as he turns around and heads to his room. Louis sighs and leaves without saying goodbye.

~~

Niall rubs his arms gently, “So you had your first fight. It’s normal, Lou. All couples fight.”

“Niall, you don’t understand. It’s all a huge mess all because of me.” Louis whines as he slumps back against the chair. He shuts his eyes and the image of Harry wide-eyed with disappointment across his face is still stuck in his mind.

He hears some footsteps and once he speaks, Louis knows it’s one of the staff and he’s come here with water bottles.

“Thanks. Tommo here is being ridiculous right now and he needs some water splashed on him.” Niall says and it emits a laugh from the guy as he leaves.

Louis groans as he sits up straight and snatches one of the water bottles from Niall, “It’s so weird having you here.”

“I’m proper nervous.” Niall admits as he twists open the water bottle and starts drinking it.

“You’ve been on stage before. It’s fine.” Louis reassures him and Niall shrugs. It is really strange to think that Niall’s going to be by his side in one of the scenes in the play.

This time, the production he’s involved in is Shakespeare’s _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_. There were bits slightly changed, such as the changes in Flute’s character. It was made that Flute’s would be originally a guitarist and performs a song just before the small play within the play. It took Niall a while to write this song with the way he was nervous about acting and making sure the song is fitting with the play.

“The greatest thing about all of this is that I’m playing the role of someone who’s unconfident when it comes to acting. Will make me seem as if I’m a proper, decent actor. I’ll stun everyone, just watch me. Everyone will forget about you as soon as they see me.” Niall laughs when Louis throws the water bottle’s cap at him.

He shakes his head and looks down, his eyes falling on his shoes. Even with the way Niall’s been laughing and trying to ease everything, Louis still can’t get Harry off his mind. He needs to explain everything to him, yet he doesn’t know how to tell Harry that all he’s been thinking about the last couple of days is for them to move in together and live in their own place.

“Hey, Niall? Can you be really honest?” Louis asks and Niall raises his brows but nods his head, “Do you think Harry will freak out when I tell him that I want us to live together?”

Niall’s face breaks into a huge grin, “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, of course I am.” Louis says and Niall’s grin widens.

“Louis, Harry is weak when it comes to all these domestic sappy things. The first night he slept over at your place, he came back home and didn’t stop talking about how perfect it was waking up next to you. He’ll probably start crying when you tell him that.” Niall chuckles, “But you know what makes him even weaker?”

“What?”

“Babies.” Louis’ eyes widen as Niall nods his head, “He loves babies. A lot. And the thought of you two having babies together will do things to him. Seriously, he might just pull your pants and give you a blowjob right there if you tell him that.”

Louis remains quiet, staring at Niall, and Niall shakes his head as he grabs his water bottle again. He chuckles quietly, “Oh my god, I love him so much.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twitter: [sametolarry](https://twitter.com/sametolarry)  
> Twitter (personal): [oopshilouve](https://twitter.com/oopshilouve)
> 
> Thanks for reading, I love you ♡♡


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good luck to everyone going back to school and uni, you can do it! :)  
> I'm starting uni at the end of next month and I'm not looking forward for it at all.

Rehearsals end an hour late. The director kept on repeating many scenes and not a whine was heard. They all know that this play needs to leave everyone speechless because it seems as if everyone has set up high expectations for this play as soon as the cast was announced. “ _Louis Tomlinson And Niall Horan Set To Be On The Same Stage During Summer_ ” It was the headline of many news sources and not a single article didn't fail to mention how they have high expectations for this play and for it to be a high quality one.

It's easy for Louis to do his best and to suppress everyone's expectations. He's been doing his job for over eleven years now; he's mastered acting. It's something to do with the way how he genuinely enjoys his job and how easy it is for him to get into his character's shoes.

There are a few encouraging words shared by the director at the end of the rehearsals followed by them bidding each other goodbye as they all gather their things to leave. Louis pulls Niall in for a quick hug, thanking him one last time, and then he's making his way for his car to go back home.

It doesn't cross his mind only later when he's parking his car that he just referred to Harry's place as home. He whines loudly and drops his head back against the seat, shutting his eyes immediately. He doesn't know when it started that he started calling wherever Harry is home.

He enters Harry's flat and it's quiet other than the slight noises that seem to be coming from the television. It's only now that he's inside that he starts stressing out again over everything. He doesn't know how to explain everything to Harry. He can't explain to him how he's been wanting to discuss with him how much he wants them to live together by their own. It would be perfect. A place where it would be just theirs; just Harry and Louis.

He starts panicking and for a second considers turning back and leaving since it doesn't seem Harry heard the door. It turns out Louis's wrong because as soon as that thought crosses his mind, Harry comes to his view. He's got his hair all tied up in a neat bun, very few strands seem to have come out, but his eyes are bright as he locks his gaze with Harry, and it's only then does it sink in how much he misses him. These last three days all he's done was push Harry away and give him little time.

He can't help it but smile gently as he speaks, "Hi."

"Didn't expect you to come here." Harry replies, his voice quiet.

"Why wouldn't I come?"

"Because I've been annoying you—"

"Harry, you haven't been annoying me. Why would you say that?" Harry sighs and Louis doesn't miss seeing the hurt in his eyes. And it's his fault. It's all his fault for pushing Harry away and then snapping at him for no reason this morning.

"Because you told me that this morning. It wasn't really fun spending the entire day thinking how did I end up annoying the person I love so much that he started pushing me away and maybe even start hating me." Harry's voice starts wavering at the end. He bites his lip and turns around immediately, leaving Louis alone next to the door.

Louis pinches the bridge of his nose sharply and huffs out a breath. He's stupid and he has never been this angry at himself this much before. He came here to explain everything to Harry and all he has done so far is make it worse. Harry's in tears in the next room all because of him.

He takes off his shoes and quietly makes his way to where Harry is. The television is still on, the quiet sounds serving as a quiet background, and he spots Harry. He's got his knees pushed up all the way up to his chest and he's hiding his face against his knees, and his arms around his knees, just holding on.

Louis gently sits down next to him and hesitantly rests his hand against Harry's back. When he notices how Harry isn't going to push him away, he starts rubbing his back, gently pushing him to talk to him again.

"I need to explain everything to you." Louis starts. Harry lets out a long breath and sits back, turning to face Louis. His eyes are red and puffed out, and it hurts seeing the warmness and brightness in his eyes are no longer there.

"Can I ask you something?" Harry asks, sniffling a bit and Louis quickly nods his head, "What did I do?”

“You were just being yourself―” Louis says but stops when Harry’s eyes widen, seeming on the verge of tears again and interrupts him.

“So just being myself bothers you?” Harry asks, his voice wavering, and a tear slides down his face, but he quickly rubs it away.

“Harry, there was something constantly on my mind and it had to do with you. But you never bothered me, and I’m sorry for leaving this morning and not explaining everything. I left and made it seem as if you were the one bothering me, but it wasn’t you.” Louis says and looks down at his feet. He’s nervous and doesn’t want to mess this up even more yet he’s finding it difficult to put his thoughts into words.

“Then why were you pushing me away these last three days?” Harry asks.

Louis bites his bottom lip and looks up, meeting Harry’s gaze, and smiles gently, “Because I’m stupid and I didn’t know how to tell you that I want us both to live together.”

Harry remains quiet for a few seconds and then finally speaks, “Louis, were you really thinking about this?”

“And I’m still thinking about it. When my mum called that day, I realised that you’ll be away for quite a while during summer. We’ve been really close since day one and it’s become almost a daily thing that one of us sleeps in the other’s place. We’re particularly living together and I know living together will be just better, so why not? I was just nervous and I didn’t know how to mention this. I was scared that once I mention this you might push me away but instead I ended up doing that.”

Louis sighs when Harry smiles, his eyes tearing up again as he speaks, “I would really love living with you.”

As soon as the words are out of Harry’s mouth, Louis immediately pulls him and hugs him tightly. Harry wraps his arms around him and giggles when Louis rubs his nose against his cheek.

“I’m sorry for being a fucking idiot.” Louis mumbles, his arms around Harry tight, even when Harry moves a bit to hide his face against his neck.

“It’s alright, Lou. I knew since the day we met that I’ve fallen in love with an idiot.”

~~

Louis rubs his eyes as he grabs his phone, "It's my day off and it's not even fucking eight, Zayn. This better be important—"

"I'm having a gallery!" Zayn shouts.

It takes Louis a few good seconds to realise what Zayn just said and when it all sinks in, he smiles and feels excitement rushing through him, "Congratulation! When is it going to be?”

"Not a specific date yet but it's supposed to be the end of July." Zayn explains and he can tell he’s ecstatic.

"It better be after my mum's wedding." Zayn laughs and tells him he'll make sure it's not that day.

He starts explaining to Louis everything all over again. How he started sending samples of his work couple of months ago and all the procedures that followed. Louis stays quiet letting Zayn explain all of this even though when he was getting all of this done he had explained it all to Louis. And Louis lets him because he's proud of him and he can hear the happiness in his voice. His art work is extraordinary and it's finally getting the recognition it deserves. He wonders briefly how Liam's face would light up when he hears this and hopes he doesn't accidentally blurts out how much he loves him at that moment when he’s filled with pride.

Harry turns around in bed, frowning when he sees that Louis is on the phone and Louis knows it's because he no longer has his arms around him. He keeps his arm wide open and Harry moves closer, clinging to Louis, as Louis wraps his arm around him and presses a kiss on top of his head.

"And yeah that's it. I'm really happy, Louis. It's happening, it's finally happening." Louis can hear the smile in Zayn's voice as he continues talking.

"I'm so proud of you." Louis interrupts him and Zayn chuckles.

"Thanks. And I should probably let you go back to sleep and back to Harry." He hears some whistling and knows Zayn's making some tea right now.

"Yeah, sleep sounds great right now."

"Tell Harry about this, yeah? I'm going to call Liam." Zayn says and Louis’s glad he told him that.

"Drink your tea first then call him. And I'm really proud of you, Zayn." They continue talking for a while and he ends the call shortly afterwards and texts Liam quickly.

" _zayn's going to tell you some pretty exciting news just don't accidentally blurt out a confession while he's talking_."

"Zayn's having an art gallery at the end of July." Louis runs a hand through Harry's hair as he hums.

"I hope it's after your mum's wedding." His stomach twists at Harry's response being similar as his response to Zayn when he had informed him about the date.

"I told Zayn the exact same thing."

"We're perfect together." Harry adds and Louis presses another kiss on top of his head.

His phone buzzes in his hand and he sees it's a text from Liam:

" _okayyy, thanks for the heads up! :)_ "

Louis's about to put his phone away when Harry yawns and then giggles for no specific reason. He gets an idea then and opens the camera app on his phone. He hides his face against Harry's curls and takes a picture then. Harry's face is hidden with the way he's hiding his face against his neck and Louis' closed eyes are only visible with Harry's wild curls hiding the rest of his face. And it's just his eyes showing but it clearly gives away what he's truly feeling with the crinkles by his eyes.

"Babe, look."

“Did you just take this picture?” Harry asks and Louis nods his head as he opens his Instagram app and Harry laughs when he posts it with the caption:

“ _He’s an octopus in his sleep, but the perfect mornings are with him !!_ ”

~~

Niall and Ed are looking at him with matching grins and it was the last thing Louis was expecting when he opened the door.

“What the fuck are you two doing here? It’s way too early.” Louis says, his voice thick with sleep. Niall ignores him and makes his way in, while Ed pulls him for a quick hug first.

“It’s not early.” Niall simply states as he drops himself on the sofa, sighing as he lays back.

“It’s _too late_.” Ed continues and Niall chuckles, nodding his head and agreeing. He pats Ed’s back when he joins him on the sofa and Ed starts laughing which only pushes Niall to laugh louder.

“I don’t care if it’s too early or late, it doesn’t change the fact it’s five and I was sleeping before you two brought your drunk arses here.” Louis stares at them when they both stop laughing and slump against each other, closing their eyes, and seeming on the verge of sleeping all of a sudden.

“Lou? What’s going on?” It’s Harry’s croaky morning voice that grabs Louis’ attention. He’s squinting at the bright lights in the room and starts rubbing his eyes. His hair is a mess and he’s struggling to keep his eyes open, and he’s the most beautiful person Louis has ever seen. It’s a glorious sight to wake up to every morning.

He doesn’t even realise that he’s been holding his breath until he lets it out and Niall giggles at that. He clears his throat and points at Niall and Ed, “These two just came here knocking on the door and now seem as if they’re ready to sleep.”

Harry stares at where Louis’s pointing and he finally seems to realise they’re both here, “Hey, what are you two doing here?”

He speaks too cheerfully for someone whose sleep just got interrupted and Louis groans, but still can’t help himself from going behind Harry and wrapping his arms around him. He drops himself against him, hiding his face against his neck and pressing a kiss at the back of his neck.

“We came here because of you two.” Ed announces and Niall nods his head eagerly, both seeming as if they weren’t on the verge of sleeping just a while ago.

“Us two?” Harry asks as he intertwines his hand with Louis’.

“And Liam.” Niall adds.

“It’s always Liam’s fault.” Louis mumbles, emitting a soft giggle from Harry.

Ed pulls out couple of folded papers from his pocket and starts sorting them out on the coffee table as Niall points at the papers, “We wrote songs. About you two and one sort of about Liam and Zayn.”

“It has many parts dealing with Liam.” Ed says as he stares at the now arranged papers.

“Come on, sit down. This will take a while. Make yourself at home.” Niall starts laughing when Louis glares at him while Harry pulls him to sit down at the opposite sofa.

“This is our home.” Louis mumbles. He doesn’t miss seeing the glances Niall and Ed share and their wider grins when they look back at Louis and Harry. He knows they noticed how he’s called Harry’s place as _their home_. And he knows they noticed how Harry smiled and bumped into Louis’ side gently.

“I’ve never seen anyone fall in love as deeply as you two did and this is why we write songs about you two. I want the entire world to witness bits and parts of this wonderful thing that only a few get to witness.” Ed says and Niall nods his head.

“And you two just make it so easy for us to write songs.” Niall says as he hands Louis two of the papers and Louis grabs it quietly, his eyes immediately falling on the title. _Thinking Out Loud_.

“This is the one about us?” Harry asks. Niall nods his head as Ed grabs the remaining sheets and hands them to Harry.

“This is the one we wrote about Liam.” Niall sighs when Louis frowns as soon as he reads the title. _I’m A Mess_.

Louis notices the way they’ve underlined some parts and scribbled next to them _Li to Zayn_ and some just saying _Liam’s thoughts_. They remain quiet, going through the lyrics, and Niall and Ed don’t blurt out a single word.

“It does fit Liam right now,” Harry murmurs and then he’s chuckling softly, “Lou, look at them.”

They’re sleeping on top of each other, that’s what Louis sees. Ed’s laying on his back with Niall on top of him and they’re both deeply asleep, even with the way Niall’s snoring directly into Ed’s ear.

“Ed’s the one for Niall. He’s snoring right into his ears and he’s still sleeping. They’re perfect for each other.” Louis grins when Harry hides his face against his neck, muffling his giggles.

“Bring two blankets for them.” Harry says and presses a kiss against Louis’ cheeks as he gets up and places the papers back on the table.

Louis gets up to bring the blankets and when he’s back, he sees that Harry has removed the back cushions of the sofa to make the space wider for them to sleep and has placed it down right by the end of the sofa. Harry grabs the blankets and covers them with it. All they do is smile and mumble few incoherent things in their sleep.

Harry and Louis go back to sleep for a few more hours and then Harry’s preparing breakfast and Louis is staring at Ed and Niall still deeply asleep. Lucie sits just next to Louis’ feet and meows. He looks down at her and she blinks her eyes softly at him, “What do you think, Lucie? How should I wake them up?”

She meows again and Louis nods his head, “Yeah, I got to be _really_ quiet. And that’s _exactly_ what I’m going to do.”

Lucie tilts her head and Louis picks her up, rubbing just beneath her ears, and she leans into his touch, closing her eyes, and purring softly, and _fuck_ , she’s reminding him of Harry now.

“You’re being like your daddy now,” He pokes her nose and she scrunches up her tiny pink nose, “speaking of your daddy, he probably knows the best quiet ways to wake people with hangovers, right?”

Lucie meows again and Louis shouts, “Harry! What’s the best quiet way to wake these two?” Ed groans and Niall starts cursing straightaway when they’re woken up by Louis and it’s the perfect reaction he wanted, “never mind! They woke up,” Louis laughs when they groan again, covering their ears at Louis’ loud voice.

“Jesus, stop shouting, Louis,” Niall whines and Ed mumbles an agreement. Ed blinks his eyes open and immediately freezes seeing how close Niall’s face is to his. It takes Niall a few more seconds and then he’s blinking his eyes open and freezing in his spot.

“You two were perfect sleeping together,” Louis chimes, “Niall, you were snoring into his ears and he still slept like a baby. Marry him, you’ll never met someone like him.”

He laughs when they both groan simultaneously and tell Louis to fuck off.

“Shut the fuck up and get up. My wonderful boyfriend has made breakfast even though you two don’t deserve it.” Louis leaves the two alone and heads back to the kitchen with Lucie in his hands rubbing her nose against his hand and meowing.

Harry coos when he sees Louis, “Aww, is my precious darling hungry?”

He grabs Lucie and Louis raises a brow, “ _Precious darling_ ,” Louis mimics Harry’s deeper voice and Harry blinks his eyes, “what about me?”

“Aww, is my precious Louis jealous?” Harry laughs as Louis wraps his arms around him.

“Starting to think you love her more than you love me.” Louis connects their lips for a short kiss and Harry smiles as he rests his forehead against Louis’.

“Never.” He kisses him again and Louis tightens his grip against Harry’s waist. He’s warm and soft and Louis wants to take him back to bed to please him and to hear his pretty, sleepy, warm moans.

“Can you at least wait until we leave?” Niall groans. Harry smiles gently at Louis as he pecks his lips one last time and then Louis turns around at Niall and Ed, who have just taken their seats at the dining table.

“Can you leave now?” Louis chuckles when Harry smacks his arm and tells him to be nice to them. He grabs Lucie from him and he’s met with an unintimidating glare from the little kitten, probably because he grabbed Harry’s attention and made him forget about her for a few moments. He fills her bowl with more food to make it up for her and she straightaway starts eating.

“Is that Lucie? She’s so cute.” Ed exclaims and Harry nods his head and starts repeating the story of how he saw Lucie and chose her all over again. Niall isn’t paying much attention to Harry, he’s far more interested in the plate filled with eggs and bacon Harry’s prepared.

“How many times has he repeated this story?” Niall asks, his mouth filled with food, and Louis shrugs.

“Way too many times.” Niall starts laughing and Louis grins as he grabs his mug and takes a sip of his tea.

“Hey, I heard that.” Harry whines. He moves the chair next to Louis’ to sit down next to him, but Louis pulls him back, nearly tripping him, and making him sit on his lap. He presses a kiss against his neck and wraps his arms around Harry’s waist, holding him tightly.

“As much as we love your relationship, seeing you two being all touchy won’t make our hangover any better.” Niall tells them and Harry starts scolding him for talking while having his mouth full of food. Ed tells Harry that he can’t marry someone who talks while having his mouth full and Niall starts cackling when Harry tells him he just lost his soulmate. They all quiet down when Louis’ phone starts ringing, while Louis grabs his phone and hopes it isn’t his manager calling or anything work related.

“It’s Liam.” He tells them and the three continue with their ridiculous talks.

“Hey, Louis. Good morning. Did Zayn call you?” Liam’s voice is rushed and unsteady, and Louis doesn’t like where this is going.

“He didn’t. Why?” Louis doesn’t even realise he’s tightened his grip on Harry, until he turns away and looks at him with worried eyes.

“He just called. Told me he has a date with Perrie tonight.” Louis’ eyes widen and he’s lost for words. It’s actually happening; Zayn is really going out with her again.

“Did he say anything else?” Louis asks, failing to hide his disappointment and anger. They’ve all quieted down now, looking at Louis, while Harry rubs his arm gently, the only thing soothing him.

“He told me that and I didn’t know what to say. I just told him I hope everything works out the way he wants it to be and then he told me…” Liam stops talking and Louis hears a quiet sniff, “he told me that he wanted me to be the first to know. Fuck, what’s that supposed to mean?”

Louis huffs out a breath and runs a hand through his hair, “Hey, Li―”

“I’m fine, Lou. I’ve gotten used to this,” Liam pauses and sighs, “I’m sorry, but I have to go. I don’t want to be late for my first exam. Bye, Louis.”

He hangs up before Louis gets the chance to speak. “Fuck,” Louis mutters under his breath.

~~

“He’s going to come and tell me that it didn’t work out. I know it. I just have to wait.”

“And I’ll wait with you. Just, can you come over here?” Harry pleads and Louis doesn’t say a word as he makes his way to where Harry is laying down on the sofa and drops himself next to him. He’s wrapped up in Harry’s warmth right away and can’t help himself but smile at the familiar comfort.

“It’s nearly summer, won’t it be too hot for this really soon?” Louis asks as he wraps his arms around Harry.

“It’s never too hot for cuddles,” Harry presses a kiss against his forehead and sighs, “What if Zayn thinks you’re staying over at mine’s and he goes there instead?” Harry asks as he intertwines his leg with Louis’.

Louis hums, “He’s going to notice that nobody’s there and he’ll come over here. It’s fine.”

“Oh yeah,” Harry mumbles all quietly, “hey, Lou, do you want me to be here while you talk to him or should I leave you two alone?”

“Would really love it if you would stay,” he pauses to kiss Harry, “I can’t hold back my tongue if he mentions Perrie. You, though, can calm me down.”

Harry smiles, his gaze fixed on Louis, “You want me to hold you from drifting? Kind of, like, to be your anchor?”

Louis laughs, “Yes, I’m the rope and you’re the anchor.”

Harry grins widely at him, “We should get that tattooed.”

“No we won’t. You like to get tattoos of anything,” Louis says and Harry frowns.

“But, Lou. They won’t just be any random tattoos, they’ll be matching. We can have them on our wrists so that when we hold hands they’ll line up perfectly and it’ll always be there.” Louis smiles and really hope Harry is realising what he’s implying.

“A commitment.” Louis says gently and Harry’s eyes crinkle as he nods his head.

“Yeah, a commitment.” Louis kisses him and he’s smiling as he continues pressing kisses all over his face, and Harry’s a giggling mess.

“Then we can get more tattoos. You can get a compass and I could get a ship, since I’m lost without you and you guide me home.” Harry starts laughing when Louis tickles him and calls him a sap.

“Yeah, and what would your ship mean to me?” Louis asks as Harry catches his breath.

“That you’re basically useless without me―” He starts laughing again and struggles to push Louis away as he starts tickling him again.

“You’re lucky you’re cute.” Louis says as he finally stops tickling him and Harry wraps his arms around Louis and hides his face against his neck, “besides, why are they all nautical?”

“Because I thought of your blue eyes first, the sea I always get lost in―”

Louis interrupts Harry and starts laughing loudly, making Harry laugh as well, “You’re a dork.”

“A cute dork,” Harry grins, “I came up with two brilliant ideas and you didn’t even come up with one.”

Louis raises a brow, “Half of the first idea was mine, so really you just came up with an idea.”

“Come up with an idea then.”

Louis smirks, “I could get a dagger to match your rose.”

“I love it. We really should get them tattooed―” They hear the doorbell ringing and Louis knows it’s definitely Zayn.

Louis sighs as he gets up and runs a hand through Harry’s hair, “Just wait here.”

Louis opens the door and Zayn’s by the door, a frown apparent on his face, even when he looks up at Louis and forces a smile, “Hey, Lou.”

“Get in already.” Louis turns back to leave to go back to Harry when Zayn clears his throat and calls him.

“Harry’s here?” He asks and Louis doesn’t look back as he answers him.

“He’s here for us, not me.” Zayn looks down with a tight smile and Louis knows he understood him; if Harry isn’t here, then this will probably end with them arguing and fighting.

Zayn’s quiet when he joins Louis and Harry, just mumbling a quick hello to Harry when he spots him.

“You’re probably angry at me right now and I really deserve it.” Zayn starts, his gaze glued to the floor, and Louis sighs.

“What happened between you and Perrie tonight?”

“I told her we can’t go out again and I left,” he’s still got his eyes fixed on his feet as he continues talking, “I went out with her tonight cause she told me that she wants us to be in a genuine relationship and I thought she might have changed. But she didn’t. She’s still the same old Perrie.”

“The same Perrie that I told you to leave and never to go back to because I told you she will never change but you didn’t listen. So, why are you here today? What do you want me to tell you if you’re not going to listen to what I have to say?” Louis’ voice is harsh and he’s glad Harry’s there to intertwine his hand with his, and just squeezes gently.

“I left Perrie for two reasons tonight. First, I noticed she hadn’t changed and…” Zayn trails off and Louis raises his brows.

“And?”

“I’m not attracted to her anymore,” Zayn takes in a deep breath, “the entire time I was with her I felt it was wrong. There was this other person constantly in my mind and I couldn’t stay with her anymore.”

Louis looks back at Harry and he’s met with hopeful eyes, “Who was it?”

Zayn finally looks up at Louis, a small smile present as he speaks in a quiet voice, “Liam.”

He looks down immediately and hides his face against his hands. Louis notices the way Harry’s biting his lips from smiling and Louis realises how terrible Harry is when it comes to acting and hopes he won’t reveal what Liam really feels about Zayn right away with his face.

“Stop smiling.” Louis whispers and Harry hides his face against the back of Louis’ neck when he turns back to face Zayn.

“When did you start viewing Liam differently?” Louis asks and Zayn chuckles.

“Liam has always been different. At first I just thought we were really good friends but shortly after I broke up with Perrie, I realised that the feelings I have towards Liam were much different when it came to you guys and even Perrie. And today was the final thing that made me realise I really do like him,” Zayn lets out a long breath, “and it’s bad, Lou. He sees me as his friend and that’s it. And you two always talk about his crush and I just don’t know what to do.”

“Wait, you don’t know who Liam has a crush on?” Harry asks, finally lifting his head, and Louis notices the way Harry’s brows are furrowed and Louis has never seen Harry this confused.

“No, you do?” Zayn asks and Harry meets Louis’ eyes filled with disbelieve and crinkles his nose. Louis squeezes Harry’s hands gently and chuckles.

“Zayn, even Harry knows it,” Louis laughs when Harry whines and Zayn smiles just a little bit, “and I wish I could tell you, but Liam’s the one who should tell you that.”

Zayn nods his head and slumps back against the chair. He’s got his eyes closed when Harry clears his throat and speaks, “Would you ever think about telling Liam about this?”

“No. Besides, what if these feelings are just temporary?”

Harry meets Louis’ eyes and his eyes are filled with disappointment and Louis knows they’re on the same page; Zayn can’t know about Liam’s feelings and they can’t tell Liam about all of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twitter: [sametolarry](https://twitter.com/sametolarry)  
> Twitter (personal): [oopshilouve](https://twitter.com/oopshilouve)
> 
> Thanks for reading, I love you ♡♡


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for everyone that's been reading Red Freesias, I'm honestly still surprised that there are people genuinely enjoying this and continuing to read it. Thank you so, so much. It means the world to me.

Harry’s eyes are wide when he spots Louis. He quickly runs towards his side and throws himself at Louis, wrapping his arms tightly around him, and engulfing him with his warmth and comfort. Louis laughs when Harry shrieks when he wraps his arms around him and squeezes gently.

“Louis! I’m done with exams!” He snuggles his face closer to Louis’ neck and Louis chuckles quietly.

There are many staring at them right now, at the two overjoyed boys embracing each other in the middle of the parking spots, and Louis can hear them saying “Isn’t that Louis Tomlinson?” “It’s Louis Tomlinson!” “Hurry up, take a picture!”

He’s still smiling when he pulls Harry back to meet his eyes and he’s grinning, his smile bright, and as much as Louis wants to kiss him right now, he would rather kiss him when nobody’s staring.

“I’m so proud of you, babe. And I really want to kiss you but they’re taking our pictures, so can we please get in the car and leave?”

They get in the car and Louis quickly drives away, not wanting anyone to stop him and ask him for a picture when he’s got a surprise for Harry. Harry’s quiet in the passenger seat, just fiddling with the radio, switching from one radio station to another until he eventually leaves it on one while raising the volume and starts singing.

“ _If you wanna be my lover you have to give, taking is too easy but that’s the way it is_.” Louis interrupts Harry’s singing by his loud laugher and Harry lowers the volume as he grins.

“Everyone needs a bit of Spice Girls every now and then.” Harry says and Louis notices the way he’s biting his lip to stifle his yawn. He’d been up last night, nervous for his final exam and Louis had stayed up waiting for him to finish revising so they could finally sleep, but ended up sleeping, exhausted from the final rehearsals. He doesn’t even know when Harry did get in bed and finally slept.

“You got your needed doze of Spice Girls and now it’s time for you to take a nap.” Louis glances towards Harry and smiles at the way his eyes are dropping and he’s pouting.

“Don’t want to sleep.” He yawns again and Louis laughs at how unconvincing that was.

“Babe, we’re stuck in traffic. Take a nap, you really need it and I want you to be fully awake tonight for the play.” Harry remains quiet, considering what Louis just said, and mumbles a quick agreement shortly afterwards.

When he looks back at Harry a few minutes later he isn’t surprised to see him deeply asleep. He smiles at how peaceful and calm he looks in his sleep. He’s beautiful and Louis can’t wait to see his face when he wakes him up and shows him where they’re stopping first. When Harry wakes up, Louis will be surprising him with their new home.

He and Harry started searching for a place shortly after they decided to live together. Out of all the places they went to this was the only house that caught both their attention. The window seat in the living room would be a perfect place for them to drink their tea in the morning, as Harry had said, while Louis had mentioned how he wants to fuck him there. Harry had nudged him by his elbows telling him to be quiet since the agent was in the same room, but had whispered later _yeah it would be a perfect place_.

It was also the same house that Harry had fallen in love with the kitchen and kept on telling Louis how they could decorate it with pure excitement in his voice. They fell in love with the bedroom as well along with its bathroom that as soon as Harry spotted the huge bathtub, Louis didn’t miss seeing him biting his lip, not wanting to reveal his true feelings, but Louis knew that Harry had fallen in love it. It wasn’t the only part of the house that Louis noticed the way Harry was biting on his lips and remaining quiet trying to hide his true feelings because he knew the chances of them getting this place were very slim. When the agent agreed to tour this place with them, he had mentioned that there was another person interested in getting this place and was getting their papers finalised and due to bring them in a few days if there isn’t a change in mind.

That night Harry had mentioned that this house was going to be the perfect one, even though it doesn’t seem they’ll be getting it. It was this that pushed Louis to call the agent the next morning, telling him he wants this place and is able to pay all at once ― because fuck, he’s Louis Tomlinson, he has the money for it, and he wants to spoil his boyfriend. The agent told him he was giving the earlier client one more day to bring his finalised papers and if he fails to do so then the house is basically theirs.

The next morning Louis got a call from the agent telling him his previous client didn’t bring in his papers and hasn’t been answering any of his calls. Louis managed to rush everything and to get everything finished and finalised even with his busy schedule and still keeping it a secret from Harry.

Harry’s resting his head against the window, his mouth slightly gape, and still deeply asleep when Louis parks the car. Louis gently moves him so he’s not leaning against the door and he wants to run his hand through his messy hair, but decides against that, scared he might accidently wake him up. He makes his way towards Harry’s side when he gets out of the car and he’s glad Harry’s a heavy sleeper and hasn’t woken up yet.

Louis presses a kiss against his forehead, “Harry, baby, it’s time to wake up.”

He blinks his eyes slowly, barely able to keep them open, and turns around lazily in his seat so he’s facing Louis and drops himself against him, hiding his face against his shoulder, “I’m tired.”

“I know you are babe,” Louis holds him by his shoulders and pushes him slightly back to meet his eyes, “but I’ve got a surprise for you.”

Harry’s eyes widen, forgetting about sleep, and rests his hands on top of Louis’ shoulder, “What is it? What is it, Lou? And why?”

“Because I want to spoil you for finishing your exams, you were studying really hard for them.”

“Louis, I love you so much and you’re honestly so sweet to me and I would say more but I’m excited and I want to know my surprise. Please tell me you’ll show me what it is now.” Harry pleads.

Louis runs a hand through Harry’s hair, pushing a strand that had fallen forward, “Well, what do you think it is?”

Harry frowns, “How am I supposed to know?”

“Okay,” Louis bites his lip, stifling a laugh, and wonders how Harry hasn’t turned his face yet to see his surprise, “what have we been talking about recently?”

“A place for us both,” Harry’s eyes widen again and smiles brightly at him, “You found a new place for us to tour?”

This time Louis laughs and shakes his head, wondering how long he can keep this up, “Nope.”

“Then?”

“It is something that would make you really happy―”

“Stop making me guess and tell me already.” Harry whines and Louis decides he’s kept this going for long.

“Turn around.” Harry’s furrows his brows but does what he’s told and turns around, his breath hitching when he realises where they are.

He immediately frowns when his eyes land on the front sign with a sticker with huge, red letters spelling _SOLD OUT_. He lets out a breath and murmurs, “They bought it. Why are we here?”

He looks back at Louis and it shatters him how sad and disappointed Harry looks, even though he finds it slightly amusing how Harry hasn’t caught up with what actually is happening, “Don’t pout, love.”

“I liked this place and was hoping that person would change their mind. And now it has that stupid sold out sticker on top of that sign.” He huffs out a breath and Louis leans in and kisses him.

“Then get up and remove the sign.” Louis says and Harry raises his brows.

“Whoever lives here is the one who should remove it.” Harry replies and Louis smiles gently.

“Then why aren’t you getting up and removing it?”

Harry doesn’t utter a word and keeps staring at Louis, until he blinks and looks back at the house then back at Louis, “Louis, what do you mean? Are we going to live here? Is this place ours?”

Louis grins, “Surprise! About time you caught up.”

Harry’s smiling as he holds Louis’ hands and squeezes gently as he speaks, “Are you serious?”

“Of course I am,” Harry chuckles quietly, his eyes crinkling, and starting to tear up, “Harry―”

Harry throws himself at him, wrapping his arms around him, and sobs quietly, “I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” Louis smiles when Harry pulls back and he’s grinning now, even when he smacks Louis’ arm, “What’s that for?”

“Because you didn’t tell me immediately and probably had fun seeing me all confused,” He scrunches up his nose and Louis has never been this in love with life before. Harry immediately grins again, dropping his arms around Louis’ neck when Louis pulls him closer to kiss him.

“Didn’t you want to remove that sign?” Louis asks as Harry keeps on pulling him for more kisses until he rubs his nose against his and smiles.

“I want to, but you need to explain to me everything.” Harry intertwines his hands with Louis’, his bright smile still plastered across his face.

“The one who wanted to get this place didn’t bring the papers and wasn’t answering any of the agent’s calls so he called me and told me I could get this place. I had to finish everything while still keeping it a secret from you and do you know how difficult that was?” Harry smiles at that and squeezes Louis’ hand, “this house has been officially ours two days ago, but I decided to wait two more days to surprise you for finishing your exams.”

Harry’s eyes are glowing with affection as he once again drops himself against Louis, pulling him for a tight hug, “thank you so much, Louis. Thank you so much. I could repeat it a million times and it still won’t be enough. Thank you.”

Louis presses a kiss on top of his head and holds him closer, “You deserve much more.”

~~

“I never knew you were that romantic and such a sap, Louis.” Niall grins and Louis rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling because when it comes to Harry, he has found himself doing things he never could have imagined himself doing. Harry wraps his arms around Louis from the back and rests his head on top of his shoulder.

“Only for me,” Harry says and smacks Niall’s hand away when he tries touching Louis’ hair, “I just got it all fixed and perfect for the play, don’t ruin it.”

“I keep on forgetting you’re his stylist,” Niall grins, “which reminds me, who is the magnificent person you need to thank because if it weren’t for him you two wouldn’t have met and this wonderful relationship would have never happened?”

“Fuck you, Niall.” Niall laughs at Louis’ response and even though Harry is laughing as well, Louis intertwines his hand with Harry’s and Harry squeezes tightly. They’re inseparable backstage, Harry pressing himself close to Louis up until the very final moments before he’s stepping on stage.

He’s met with loud applauses and cheers once he’s onstage and he doesn’t know if it’s just his imagination, but it seemed as if it was even louder than all previous times. He’s been an actor for over eleven year so it’s easy for him to control himself and to stop himself from grinning widely, glad that he’s still getting this much support even after he has come out.

~~

“ _Meow_ , _meow_.”

“No, Louis, you’re doing it wrong.” Harry sighs and shakes his head.

“What did I do wrong?” Louis asks, raising his brows at Harry.

“It’s supposed to be short and quick. You stretch it out,” Harry kneels down next to Louis and smiles at Lucie, “meow.”

“Too quick,” Louis mumbles and Harry nudges him by his elbow, “fine, _meow_.”

Harry looks back at Louis and sighs, “It’s just a simple ‘meow’, Lou.”

Louis smirks, “ _meow._ ”

“Meow.”

“ _Meow, meow._ ”

“Meow―”

“What the fuck are you two doing?” They burst into laughter when they hear Liam’s voice and Lucie is looking back at Harry and Louis, her eyes wide and curious.

“Louis is trying to talk to Lucie but he’s doing it wrong.” Harry explains as he stands and Louis tickles him at his side, nearly tripping him, and he’s met with an unintimidating glare, much like Lucie’s.

“Of course you would know, you’re basically her twin.” Louis watches Harry as he picks up Lucie and she’s still looking at him with wide eyes.

“What have you two done to her?” Liam says when he notices Lucie’s wide eyes and Louis stands by Harry, staring at her, and she starts looking back between the two.

“What’s the matter, sweetie?” Harry coos as he rubs her head slowly and she starts shutting her eyes as she leans into his touch, “did it surprise you how terrible daddy is?”

“Hey, you were the one who was too quick.” Louis replies and Harry shakes his head.

“You are too fast―” Lucie meows, interrupting them, and Harry raises her so she’s as the same eyelevel as he is.

“Aww, you don’t want us to argue?” Harry asks and she meows again. It causes Harry to smile and Louis guesses he took it as a yes. Harry goes to fill her bowl and Louis grabs his mug and sits down next to Liam.

“ _You’re just my cup of tea_ ,” Liam reads off Louis’ mug and Louis smiles as he sips his tea, “I’m guessing you got it when you two went shopping the other day?”

“Yeah, and Harry bought the most ridiculous cushions.” Louis says and Harry grins.

“You love them, don’t lie.” Harry says and Liam hums.

“Are they the ones on the window seat?” Liam asks and Louis nods his head. They’re five white cushions made to seem as if they’re scrabble letters spelling _RELAX_ that Harry insisted on getting as soon as he spotted them.

It was just a day after Louis surprised Harry with their house that they started packing. On their day off they went shopping for new furniture and they did end up buying ridiculous things they weren’t really planning on getting. The moving process ended up being much easier than what they anticipated and it’s mostly because of the other boys being there to help.

“I got you two mugs yesterday when I was with Niall.” Harry gets up and Louis raises his brows at him when he rushes to grab them. He comes back and he’s grinning as he places it down. It’s a green mug with a dinosaur’s silhouette―more specifically a t-rex― holding a cup and on the top written in huge black letters _tea-rex_.

“You’re ridiculous.” Louis says as he starts laughing with Liam.

“You’ll love this one,” Harry places the other one down and Louis grins when he sees it. It’s plain white with _Don’t touch my fucking tea_ written in cursive and Louis has never loved a mug this much before.

“Okay, this really suits Tommo.” Liam says as Louis holds the mug.

“Thank you.” Louis pecks Harry’s lips and Harry’s smiling when Louis pulls him in for another kiss.

“You two either make me want to either say that you’re being disgustingly cute and will make me sick and sometimes all I want to say is that I’m jealous.” Liam says, a small smile present across his face and Harry pouts.

“Did you talk to Zayn?” Harry asks as he sits down next to Louis and Liam shakes his head.

“No, I have just been more nervous ever since he told me he isn’t going out with Perrie anymore.” Liam admits as he looks down and Louis takes another sip of his tea.

“Why don’t you ask him why he doesn’t want to go out with her anymore?” Louis suggests and Harry smiles, knowing he’s hoping that Zayn will reveal everything to Liam if he’s asked directly by him.

“I shouldn’t.” Liam replies and Harry huffs out a breath.

“Why?” Harry asks.

“Because he didn’t tell me and it could be due to personal reasons. You don’t ask people personal things they are uncomfortable sharing, you know, like,” Liam pauses, furrowing his brows, and speaks quietly, “stuff.”

“Stuff like what?” Harry asks again and Louis grins at how determent Harry is.

“Like,” Liam smiles, “like me asking you how is your sex life. How is your sex life, Harry?”

“It’s pretty well. To be honest it wasn’t that active the last couple of weeks since Louis was busy with the rehearsals and then I had my exams, so we didn’t always sleep at the same time or we would end up sleeping straightaway. If we woke up early, it would have to be really quick so it wasn’t really like before. But now it is. Last time we had sex was this morning just before you arrived. Thanks for asking.”

Harry smiles and Liam groans as he rubs his face and Louis tuts, “Payno, I thought you knew Harry. He’s shameless you should know that by now.”

“It’s not just him. You were grinning the entire time and both of you look so proud.” Liam sighs and Louis smiles as he takes another sip of his tea.

“Of course I would be. Do you know how he is? He’s just perfect and loud. Like the first night of the play, when we got back home we had sex and he was really loud and he―”

“I don’t want to know the rest of it.” Liam interrupts and Louis shrugs.

“I’m just saying, that’s why I had scratch marks on my back.” Louis says and Liam rubs his face, while Harry grins.

“I didn’t need to know that.” Liam mumbles.

“He was perfectly rough that night.” Harry hums and Liam groans.

“Harry, why are you even saying this?” Liam shakes his head and Harry grins.

“Because, you just don’t understand how he is. The things he was saying and how he was thrusting in the right spot―”

“Harry! Please stop. Please keep your sex life to yourself. This isn’t just for him, even you Louis. You two are shameless.” Liam groans and rubs his face and Harry laughs.

“Told you it’s fun to mess with him.” Louis quips and Liam smacks his arm.

Harry’s still giggling quietly and Louis takes another sip of his tea when Liam sighs and speaks again, "How did you two start dating?" Liam asks, his voice much quieter than before, "I mean I know when you two first kissed and when you started dating and all of that, but like who confessed to who or just what happened?"

Harry smiles bumping into Louis' side gently, "I told Louis that I'm really glad I got to meet him since the first time I got the chance to meet him, he left early and I missed meeting him. And when he heard that ―you know how Louis is― he couldn't bite his tongue and he blurted everything."

Louis gently smiles at the memory. It happened a few months ago and yet it feels as if he's been with Harry and has known him for an eternity. It's difficult to think back to the days before he had Harry and remember just when he was genuinely happy as he is today.

He moves closer and connects their lips for a short sweet kiss and he knows that Harry understood what he meant with the kiss. Just his way of telling him _I love you_ and _I'm glad to have met you_.

When Louis looks back at Liam he's met with a gentle smile, "Were you planning to confess to him before he did it?"

Harry nods his head, "Obviously. I mean I had known Louis for just a few minutes when I started flirting with him. As each day passed I fell for him more and it was that day I spent taking care of him that made me realise I really need to tell him how I feel. If he hadn't blurted everything out that morning I would have probably done it that night."

"If I had kept my mouth shut I might have seen you all flustered and shy. Why didn't I stay quiet?" Louis laughs when Harry swats his arm.

He looks back at Liam. He's still smiling gently but he's no longer meeting their eyes and Louis sighs. He knows why Liam asked them all of this and he knows his next question is going to be directed to Harry asking him what if Louis didn't feel the same. And true to his thoughts, that's the same thing Liam asks Harry the next minute.

Harry blinks his eyes a few times and smiles. They both know Liam isn't asking him what Harry would have done, but what he should do if Zayn doesn't feel the same towards him, "I really do love Louis. And if he didn't like me, I would have accepted that. I really care about him and I want him to be happy, even if that means I might have not been with him. It would have hurt and I would have been shattered, but Louis deserves to be happy with whoever makes him the happiest."

Liam sighs and Louis rubs his back, "I have no idea what to do."

Louis doesn’t utter a word. As much as he wants to tell Liam that Zayn is going to feel the same he knows he can’t.

~~

Louis presses a kiss against his mother’s cheek and she giggles softly, “I’m so happy right now, Louis.”

“You deserve it.” Louis’s smiling when she hugs him tightly.

It’s a perfect wedding that his mother deserves. It seems as if it was only yesterday she was calling asking him for his opinion when she started all the planning. All the details and plans made seemed small and unnoticeable those past week yet today with all these things combined, the place is looking magnificent. It’s the flowers, ribbons, the arrangement of the elegant tables along with the beautifully decorated garden that has made the wedding perfect.

Harry hugs Jay next and when he’s telling her how beautiful the ceremony was, Louis interrupts him, “He really means it. He was in tears when you were exchanging your vows,” Harry laughs and Jay chuckles as she holds Harry’s hand and squeezes gently.

“Louis, I’m taking Harry for the next couple of minutes.” Jay chimes and Louis instant reaction is to look at Harry. His eyes widen for a second when he hears Jay’s unexpected words, much like Louis, but he immediately smiles. He’s still holding her hand and doesn’t seem to be tense or uneasy and it warms Louis’ heart to see that Harry has grown really close to his mother and comfortable around her in a very short amount of time.

“Where are you taking him?” Louis asks and she sighs.

“You don’t know?” She asks and Louis shakes his head. She looks at Harry and asks him the same question, “Do you know where we’re going now?”

“Not really.” Harry answers and she chuckles.

“You silly boys. I’m going to introduce you to our family members.”

He wasn’t expecting that. Louis panics for a second, _what if Harry isn’t ready?_ Instead, when he glances towards Harry he sees him smiling, his eyes squinting slightly at the implication that Harry is part of their family already.

It calms Louis to see Harry eager and ecstatic. All he was hoping for was that his mother and Harry would get along and it’s happening. He saw love in his mother’s eyes whenever she talked with Harry, but he wasn’t expecting this. Louis wasn’t expecting his mother to tell them she considers Harry a part of their family already.

When she looks back at him, Louis finds himself only able to smile and nod his head. He meets Harry’s gaze for a second and notices how he’s biting his lip to stop himself from smiling widely.

He leaves his mother and Harry, walking to the table Niall and Liam are sat at when he spots them. Niall is laughing at whatever Liam is saying and Louis frowns when he doesn’t spot Zayn anywhere, “Where did Zayn go?”

“Daisy and Phoebe pulled him somewhere.” Liam replies and it doesn’t surprise Louis; he was very much expecting it. Whenever Zayn used to come over at his place when they were younger, his sisters used to always run up to him, stunned by everything Zayn did. He still remembers his sisters running to him asking Zayn if he could teach them how to draw, pleading him and repeating ‘please, please’ and Zayn never refused. They adored Zayn, and by the looks of it, they still do.

“Where is Harry?” Niall asks.

“Mum is introducing him to my family members.” Louis pulls the seat next to Liam and once he’s sat, he looks back at Niall and Liam that haven’t spoken yet. He notices the way Niall’s grin widens and his eyes glisten while Liam hums and pats Louis’ back.

“So, when is yours and Harry’s wedding?” Liam asks and Louis laughs as he pushes Liam’s arm away.

“I guess we all know who’s having sex tonight.” Niall chirps. Liam laughs and nods his head while Louis shakes his head at Niall, who seems way too enthusiastic thinking about him and Harry having sex tonight.

Niall and Liam start talking again and Louis drifts away from their conversation, the only thought running through his mind is how everything is going with Harry and his mother. He keeps on tapping his feet without even realising it until Liam bumps their knees and Louis sighs.

“I’m going to walk around a bit.” Louis gets up and walks away immediately, not giving them a chance to ask him anything.

He wanders around trying to spot Harry and his mother, but instead he ends up spotting Fizzy. She’s standing by herself, her arms crossed, and her eyes fixed on Lottie sat on the other table. When Lottie looks up, she frowns when she notices Fizzy, and Fizzy just raises her brows.

“Alright, what’s going on between you two?” Louis startles Fizzy but relaxes when she realises it’s him.

“She pulled me really quickly a few minutes ago and told me to take a picture of her hair in this spot. She purposely made me take the picture then because Harry is showing in the back and she wants to post it on her Instagram. I’ve been telling her to stop this crazy obsession she has and to not post it, but since when does she even listen to me?” Fizzy sighs and Louis straightaway looks back at Lottie grinning as she continues tapping on her phone. When she finally looks up, she smiles sheepishly once she spots Louis, and bites her lips when Louis tells her to come to over.

Lottie chuckles once she’s by their side, “So I’m guessing you saw what I posted?”

“You posted it?” Fizzy asks and Lottie nods her head, handing her phone to Fizzy to see.

“It’s such a beautiful picture.” She replies, smiling innocently at Louis.

“A beautiful picture of your hair or my boyfriend?” Lottie whines and stops when Louis raises his brows.

“Louis, it’s not fair. He’s really perfect and I just want to post his picture. This is the only way I can post his picture and I can’t even say he’s perfect and all of that, people will think it’s weird since he’s your boyfriend.” Fizzy starts laughing and Louis sighs.

“He’s my boyfriend.” Louis repeats and Lottie frowns.

“I know―” She whines but abruptly stops when Louis keeps on staring at her, and Louis’s glad to know that even though so many things have changed, she still seems to listen to her older brother.

“Lottie, Harry’s gay. If he wasn’t dating Louis, he would be with another guy, not you. I know it’s difficult to think how is someone as wonderful as Harry is dating our brother, but it’s happening.” Fizzy says as she hands Lottie’s phone back and Louis looks back at Fizzy.

“It’s difficult?” Louis doesn’t miss seeing the way Lottie grins, probably glad Louis’ attention is now focused on Fizzy.

Fizzy smiles sheepishly, “You’re a great brother, but you’re really messy and I can point out so many things that seriously surprise me how Harry handles you.”

“He’s a great brother? I guess you forgot who got Daisy and Phoebe kicked out of Mrs.Elaine’s ballet classes when they were four.” Lottie states as she scrolls through the comments of the picture and Fizzy gasps.

“You got them kicked out? They told me that you told them they were being transferred to the advanced classes.” Fizzy says and Louis shakes his head.

“She was really rude and didn’t want to include them in the recital. I talked with her and she got angry and said they were kicked out. So I found a better class and they got to be in the recital of those classes, so it all went fine.” Louis explains and Fizzy chuckles.

“What did you tell her?” Lottie asks and Louis shrugs.

“I can’t remember. But she was rude―”

“Who was rude?” It startles Louis when he hears his mother voice and Lottie’s eyes widen when she looks back at Louis; they never told their mother that.

“Hey, how was it?” Louis asks, trying to drop the subject when he turns around and sees the matching bright smiles across his mother’s face and Harry’s. It doesn’t work though, his mother just raises her brows and gives him that look and Louis can’t ever say no to that look. He could be fifty and that would never change.

“ _Louis_ ,” he notices the way her tone changes and Louis sighs, “who was rude?”

“He means Mrs.Elaine when Phoebe and Daisy got kicked out from the ballet classes.” Fizzy interrupts. His mother’s eyes widen and Lottie swats Fizzy’s arm to stop her from talking.

“You got them kicked out? You told me they were transferred to advanced classes.”

“Technically they were. Their teacher told me that they were really advanced when I took them there. And they even got the lead roles,” Louis pauses and grins again, “anyway, how was it?”

His mother is about to talk when Harry quickly replies, “It went very well. They are very lovely.”

“They love him so much,” Jay adds and Louis’ glad they finally seem to have dropped the earlier subject, “you should have seen the way they were cooing and saying he’s the politest and sweetest boy they’ve ever seen. I told them it’s because he’s my special boy.”

Jay is still holding Harry’s hand when Harry mumbles something to her and she chuckles, and Louis’ heart is going to burst. He never has been this happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twitter: [sametolarry](https://twitter.com/sametolarry)  
> Twitter (personal): [oopshilouve](https://twitter.com/oopshilouve)
> 
> Thanks for reading ♡♡


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's the birthday of the sweet, kind boy who's full of love and always supporting his friends and everyone beloved to him, happy birthday Liam xx

“You’re going to kill me.” Louis says breathlessly and Harry whines loudly.

“ _You’re_ going to kill me. Stop teasing me― _fuck_.” Harry whimpers, his voice high when Louis’ fingers rub against his spot. His face is all flushed, his lips rosier, and hair sticking to his forehead. He moves his fingers, avoiding Harry’s prostate, and Harry whines again.

“Fuck, you sound so beautiful.” Louis whispers. He slowly starts adding a third finger and Harry drops his head against the pillow once Louis has inserted his finger and starts placing soft kisses against his collarbone. He bites down a particular spot the same moment he brushes his fingers against Harry’s prostate, and Harry starts making little noises in his throat.

“Louis, Louis _,_ ” Harry repeats his name, sounding breathless as Louis keeps on rubbing that spot, “ _Louis_ ―fuck, I’m ready. Please.”

Louis kisses him and Harry’s eager, quickly kissing him back and it’s messy and quick, but Harry’s all breathless already and Louis loves it. He takes his fingers out and grabs the lube he had thrown earlier on their bed and quickly slicks himself. Harry’s smiling dopily at him and Louis runs a hand through Harry’s hair, pushing the hair that’s been stuck to his forehead, and smiles at how messy his hair has become compared to what it had been for the wedding earlier today.

Louis leans in to kiss him again and squeezes Harry’s knee, and Harry pulls his legs. He bends his knees and Louis slowly starts entering him. He slowly pushes inside and everything feels hot and electric, the room filling up with warmth, as Harry starts making those small noises at the back of his throat again.

Harry’s eyelids fluttering and Louis doesn’t move, just stares at the beautiful boy beneath him. He has never seen someone as beautiful as Harry. He’s deep in his thoughts; how Harry’s flushed cheeks match his soft lips; how if he places his lips against Harry’s it’ll all be warm, soft, and he’ll continue kissing him until he’s left breathless and panting.

Harry blinks and Louis’ met with familiar green eyes and he parts his mouth, “Louis, move ― _fuck_.”

Louis keeps his thrusts slow yet deep and Harry’s making soft, needy sounds. He wraps his arms around Louis and pulls him closer, making Louis go deeper. He moans loudly when he brushes against his spot and Louis keeps on aiming at that spot.

Louis stops and moves backwards, pushing Harry’s folded legs closer to his chest, and it’s really easy for Harry with his flexible body. This time when he thrusts, he goes even deeper and Harry moans, “Oh, fuck, fuck.”

He starts thrusting faster and he knows Harry’s close when he starts panting and moving to meet Louis’ thrusts. Louis moves closer to Harry’s body and starts sucking at a spot against his neck. Harry whimpers as Louis continues nibbling and sucking that spot until he’s sure a bruise will be there. He’s getting closer with the way Harry keeps on whimpering now, his moans coming out all soft, and his movements are getting sloppier and erratic.

“Louis, Louis, Louis.” Harry repeats and Louis knows he’s just a few moments away from coming. He wraps his hands around Harry’s cock and moves his hand with his thrusts and Harry whines, “ _Louis_ , I’m close.”

Louis doesn’t say a word but nods his head and keeps on moving his hand until Harry gasps and then his body is tensing up and shuddering as he comes. Harry’s eyelids flutter shut and he parts his mouth, letting out a soft, long moan. Louis feels himself getting close and it takes him just couple of more quick thrusts and then he’s coming. He drops his body against Harry’s as he shudders and his breath comes out in little pants. He kisses Harry’s shoulder and they remain like that for a while, breathing heavily, until Harry shifts a bit, and Louis pulls out before it gets uncomfortable for Harry.

He drops himself next to Harry, missing Harry’s warmth for a second, until Harry throws his arm around Louis and moves closer to him. Louis wraps his arm around Harry, rubbing his thumb gently against Harry’s shoulder. They remain like that until Louis feels his eyes dropping and realises how steady Harry’s breathing has got, just moments away from drifting to sleep.

“Harry,” Louis nudges him and Harry blinks his eyes slowly, “we need to clean up.”

“Don’t want to.” Harry mumbles, shutting his eyes again. Louis moves his arm and sits up in bed and Harry immediately whines, “Get back and sleep.”

“I’ll be back in a minute.” Louis leaves to the bathroom and he gets back with a wet cloth and Harry’s eyes are shut, already on the verge of sleep again.

He flutters his eyes open when Louis sits on the edge of the bed and keeps it open when Louis starts wiping his stomach and gently wiping his cock. He turns around, to lay on his stomach, and smiles dopily at Louis, waiting for him to finish cleaning him up. When he’s got them both cleaned up he drops the cloth on the floor and gets in bed with Harry.

Harry parts his legs, dropping his leg on top of Louis’, and giggles, “You’re an octopus.”

“But I don’t kick in my sleep like you.” Harry retorts and Louis smiles. They remain quiet and it’s difficult for him to stay awake. It has been a long day. They spent the entire day with his family and the drive all the way from there to their home had been a long one filled with traffic.

He pulls Harry closer to him and Harry places a sloppy kiss against his collarbone. He buries his nose in Harry’s hair and sighs when he inhales Harry’s scent. He smells like sweat and sex, and a faint smell of his shampoo, and underneath all of that is that particular, comforting scent of Harry. He presses a kiss on top of his head and Harry mumbles something in the line of _Louis go to sleep_ , and he feels this ache in his heart when he realises it’s their final night together. Harry’s leaving tomorrow and he’ll only be back next week for Zayn’s gallery and then he’s leaving again for two more weeks.

He presses one more kiss and this time Harry’s quiet, already has fallen asleep.

~~

Louis laughs and Harry’s eyes widen when he sees his reflection. He frowns and pretends to be angry, but he just seems as a grumpy kitten and Louis can’t take him seriously like this.

“Gemma’s going to tease me about it,” Harry mumbles as he touches the love bite Louis left the night before on his neck. It’s purple, standing out against his pale skin, “I hope mum doesn’t notice it.”

Louis laughs louder and Harry shakes his head, “It won’t show.”

“It will­.” Harry complains and Louis interrupts him with a quick kiss.

“It’s fine, babe.” Louis says with a grin and leaves him to change. He’s just about to sit down when he hears the doorbell ringing, and he knows it’s definitely one of the boys.

True to his thoughts, Liam’s the one greeting him with a tight smile when he opens the door.

“Hey, Lou. Did Harry leave yet?” Liam asks and Louis shakes his head as he drops himself on the sofa.

“He’s changing and grabbing his stuff.” Louis replies and Liam sits down next to him quietly. Louis notices the way Liam’s hanging his head low and how he continues parting his mouth, but then biting his lips seeming hesitant to talk.

“Louis? Who was it?” Liam lifts his head when he hears Harry’s voice and he lets out another long breath.

“Liam,” Louis answers just as Harry stumbles into the room and nearly falls when he gets next to them and drops his bag on the other sofa when Louis raises his brows, “did you forget how to walk?”

“Shut up, I nearly tripped.” Harry’s smile falls when his eyes fall on Liam. In a second he’s kneeling down in front of Liam, eyes filled with worry, as he speaks quietly, “What happened?”

Liam looks between them both, “Why would you say that?”

“Liam,” Louis throws his arm around him and squeezes his shoulder gently, “what’s going on?”

He glances towards Louis, “Is it that obvious?”

Louis nods his head and smiles gently. Liam looks down again and sighs, “Last night, Zayn dropped Niall first and then when we reached my place, I told him to come inside. I made us coffee and we just stayed talking until he realised it was getting late and needed to go. For some reason I thought it was the perfect timing to tell him how I feel,” Liam chuckles wetly, “so I did and now I regret it.”

Harry glimpses towards Louis with worried eyes before asking Liam, “What did he say?”

“He told me he doesn’t feel the same way and that he doesn’t want us to remain friends.”

Harry gasps and Louis freezes; this wasn’t supposed to happen. He’s confused and can feel the anger building up in him. He could have told him he doesn’t like him, but for them to stop being friends? And it makes no sense. Zayn did tell him he has these feelings towards Liam. This wasn’t supposed to happen yet it did and now Liam’s crying in Harry’s arms.

Harry’s rubbing his back gently and looks at Louis with sad eyes. Louis clenches his fist and it takes him all his self-control to stop himself from getting up right now and head to Zayn to get an explanation.

“Do you know what the worst part is?” Liam moves back to face Louis, his eyes puffed up red and filled with tears, “I still like him and think he’s the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen.”

~~

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Louis blurts immediately when Zayn opens the door and gets inside.

Zayn freezes and then his shoulders drop, “I’m guessing you talked with Liam.”

“You think?” Louis snaps and Zayn sighs, “you told me you like him ―and I don’t know if you still like him or not― but that was fucking unnecessary to tell him you don’t want to be friends.”

“I still like him.” Zayn mutters and Louis lets out a breath as he runs a hand through his hair.

“Then tell me what the fuck was going through your mind last night.” Louis sighs again when Zayn looks down.

“Liam’s got a big heart and he’s really kind, and I’m scared I’ll mess up. My last relationship was pretty much fucked up and I don’t want to accidently hurt Liam―”

“And you think what you did last night didn’t hurt Liam? You think it didn’t hurt Liam hearing the guy he’s had a crush on for over two years tell him he doesn’t want him to be his friend anymore?” Louis interrupts and Zayn looks up at him with wide eyes.

“Liam’s crush is me?” Zayn mumbles and sighs as he rubs his face, “Louis, I really want to be with him but I can’t. He deserves someone much better and I’m scared I might hurt him.”

Zayn drops himself on a sofa and keeps his head down. Louis clenches his jaw and remains quiet, staring at Zayn until he lifts his head. He makes his way in front of Zayn and sits on the coffee table, “Zayn, have you ever met someone as kind and nice as Harry?”

Zayn blinks his eyes and shakes his head, “He’s probably the kindest person I’ve ever met.”

“Yeah and there are many people much better than me he can be with. When I met him I thought he deserved someone much better than me, but now I know I’m the one he deserves because he wants me. I know there are people better than me, but when it comes to him he’ll never meet anyone better, and it’s because I really love him and I’m willing to do anything for him, and I know it’s the same for him. So, don’t say that about Liam. You can’t decide that he deserves someone better before dating him. He likes you―”

“I like him too, but what if I hurt him accidently?” Zayn interrupts.

“Zayn, being in a relationship you’re going to end up arguing and it’s unavoidable. Harry and I argue about the most ridiculous things, and I never mean to hurt him, but sometimes I end up saying things I never mean. The first time we ever fought I told him I don’t care about him anymore, which really was a huge lie and I’m sure he knew it but it still hurt him. I apologised later and I assured him that I didn’t mean it. And there is nothing wrong with saying you’re sorry if you hurt someone as long as you mean it. That’s what you do if you accidently hurt the person you love, you apologise and show them you really didn’t mean it.”

Zayn looks down again, probably letting Louis’ words sink in, and Louis sighs as he gets up, “Don’t fuck this up, Zayn. You’ve been my friend nearly my entire life but I still won’t allow you to treat Liam this way.”

Zayn smiles tentatively as he bites his lips, “Next week.”

“Next week?”

“I’ll have an answer and I’ll fix everything next week the day I have my gallery. I’ll talk to Liam after it. Just, make sure he comes. Please.”

Louis sighs, but nods his head, “Don’t mess this up any more.”

~~

Louis wakes up to a gentle squeeze to his arm. He scrunches up his nose and tries to bury his face into the pillow but then there are warm, soft lips pressed against his shoulder. He shudders and smiles as he turns around, realising what day is it today. He’s half awake, his eyes dropping, his hair is all mussed up from sleep, and he probably looks like a mess, but Harry’s smile is wide when he sees him.

He leans down and pecks Louis’ lips, ignoring Louis’ protest of him still having morning breath. He pecks his nose next and glances towards the other side of the bed, where Liam is sleeping, his face hidden against the pillow, “I just went for one week and you’re cheating on me already?”

Louis chuckles quietly, “I’m irresistible, what can I do about that?”

Harry rolls his eyes and Louis intertwines his hands with Harry’s and pulls him to lay next to him. Harry nuzzles his nose against Louis’ neck and presses kisses there when Louis wraps his arm around him. He’s just at the edge of the bed and Louis takes that as a reason to pull him tighter and closer to him. Harry sighs and Louis presses a kiss on top of his head. They’ve been apart for just one week and yet it seemed much more.

“I missed you.” Harry mumbles, intertwining their legs. He moves to look at Louis and Louis’ breath hitches. The sunlight coming from the window behind Harry is lightening up his hair, making it golden at the tips, and much lighter at the top of his head, almost as if it’s a halo and it suits him; it suits this angel.

“Fuck, you’re so beautiful.” Louis blurts out and he smiles gently, his eyes crinkling, when he realises he blurted that out. It causes Harry to laugh, but he quickly claps his hand over his mouth.

“Let’s get out of here.” Harry whispers and Louis whines quietly, refusing to get out of the bed. Harry rolls his eyes but gets up, wrapping his arms around Louis, and pulling him up with him. Louis yelps, wrapping himself around Harry, as Harry grins and carries him out of the room.

He makes Harry carry him to the counter, pulling him between his legs, and wrapping his arms around Harry’s neck. He pulls him down into another feverish kiss, sighing once their lips connect. Harry smiles into the kiss when Louis lowers his arms around his waist and moves closer. He doesn’t know how long they remain like that, holding each other and sharing warmth and comfort.

He rests his head on top of Harry’s shoulder and closes his eyes, relishing in Harry’s warmth, and Harry’s grip around his waist tightens when he sighs, “I want tea.” Harry laughs and Louis feels the vibrations of his chest and grins knowing he’s the reason behind that laugh.

“Did he tell you anything about what he’ll say tonight?” Harry asks, handing Louis his mug.

Louis blows into the mug and takes a sip, smiling at the familiar taste of the morning tea Harry prepares for him that he’s missed. Harry’s eyes are locked on him, a gentle smile appearing once Louis starts drinking his tea.

“You mean Zayn?” Harry nods his head lightly and Louis sighs, “I only spoke to him once after that day and he was asking me if you would be coming to the gallery tonight. He didn’t even mention Liam.”

Harry clutches his mug tightly and sighs, “Was he okay last night?”

“When I talked to you last night he had just arrived and he was fine until he got up to leave. He reached by his car and started crying so he ran back inside and told me he can’t spend the night by himself,” Louis sighs quietly, “he’s really scared and nervous.”

Harry pouts and then smiles gently, “Will cinnamon muffins make him feel better?”

~~

Harry runs a hand through his hair and turns around, tilting his head, when Louis whines.

“I don’t like theseshoes. I hate them. They’re not comfortable, they hurt my feet, and make me feel old. Who even makes these shoes? It’s going to kill me.” Louis whines louder and drops himself on their bed.

Harry rolls his eyes and sighs, “I’m sure these shoes won’t kill you. And get up, you’re getting your clothes all wrinkled.”

Louis shakes his head as he lets out a long breath and sits up, “It’s too tight. It’s going to cut the blood circulation and won’t let oxygen reach properly ―I’m shit at biology but I’m sure something like that would happen― and then I’m going to lose my feet. Then you’ll be crying and you’ll regret letting me wear these shoes and will be wishing you listened to me and―”

“Stop being dramatic.” Harry interrupts as he kneels down and starts tying Louis’ shoes.

Louis sighs again, “I don’t want to go if I have to wear these shoes.”

Harry continues tying his shoes and remains humming quietly to himself. He knows he’s being a little bit ridiculous but he doesn’t want to go to Zayn’s art gallery tonight. Zayn’s been stupid with his recent choices and tonight he’s giving him his last chance. If Zayn messes it up again tonight and hasn’t changed his mind, then he can say goodbye to their friendship.

He doesn’t want to go the gallery knowing there are chances of it being the final time he can spend it with Zayn; the boy that grew up by his side and never left his side. He’s got a big heart ―even though he won’t admit it― but Louis can’t remain being his friend if he chooses to stop being friends with Liam because as much as he loves Zayn, he still can’t make himself to be his friend after hurting Liam.

“I hate these shoes.” Louis repeats once Harry’s done with tying his shoes.

“You look great.”

“When did I not look great?” Harry rolls his eyes at him, but doesn’t utter a word. Instead, he leans forward and pecks his lips. He moves back, standing straight, and Louis tugs on his red shirt, demanding another kiss. Harry pulls him up and kisses him again.

“Stop kissing and let me know what you think.” Liam mumbles as he enters the room and Louis groans as he moves backwards and he blinks his eyes when his gaze falls on Liam. He’s wearing a navy blazer with a plain black t-shirt underneath it. _He wasn’t wearing that ten minutes ago_.

“What happened to your suit? You even had a tie.” Harry pouts.

“Do I look just hot or _really hot_?” Liam crosses his arms when he’s meet with a silence, “you told me before I looked really hot, so do I still look the same or not as hot as before?”

Louis shrugs, “Not as hot as before, I guess?”

Harry tilts his head and presses his lips together and then he’s nodding his head, “Yeah, cause you were wearing a proper suit and tie and you have that beard thing going on so it made you look, you know, like important. Now, you don’t look so important.”

Liam’s eyes crinkle as he grins, “Thank you.”

“I always tell you you’re not relevant and important but you never thanked me.” Louis complains and Liam shakes his head.

“Because I don’t want to look really hot and important. If I look really hot then he might think I’m desperate for him. If I look just hot, then he’ll know I’m fine without him and I won’t seem desperate―”

“For his cock.” Niall interrupts and Harry cackles and claps his hand over his mouth.

“I love Niall.” Louis grins when Liam glares at him until Niall pushes Liam away from where he was standing by the door.

“I love you and your boyfriend a lot. He makes the best muffins.” Niall exclaims and Harry hums, proud of the batch of muffins he made earlier.

The four of them leave ten minutes later with Louis still whining about his shoes with Harry by his side and Niall grabbing another muffin for himself and another to distract Liam from all his thoughts.

~~

“He looks so amazing, Louis. Oh my god, I shouldn’t have changed. I don’t care if I had looked desperate. He looks so perfect, Lou. Look at him. How can someone be so perfect?” Liam quietly mumbles as he admires Zayn walking to the centre of the stage alongside the gallery owner.

Louis elbows him in the stomach and he nearly shrieks and glares at Louis, “Can you shut up?”

Liam huffs out a breath and focuses his entire attention on Zayn again. Everyone quiets down as the gallery owner starts talking, introducing Zayn and giving a very brief talk about his art. His voice becomes background noises as Louis looks at the huge crowd. Zayn’s art had already a bit of recognition, but he wasn’t expecting this many people to attend his gallery. The gallery is full and although things haven’t been the very best between them, he’s still proud of Zayn and all that he’s achieved and the recognition his work will be getting after tonight.

When he focuses back on Zayn, he’s just done with thanking his family.

“I also want to thank my friends, Louis, Niall, and Harry,” Louis huffs out a breath and notices the way Liam sighs quietly at his name not being mentioned, “You’ve always provided me with so much support, especially these last couple of months. I can’t ever ask for better friends, so thank you.”

“Lastly, I want to thank the person that was always in my mind when I was getting these paintings done. You were the reason and inspiration behind almost all of my work. If it weren’t for you this gallery would be empty. Thank you for always being supportive, especially when I didn’t deserve it, and I hope you do know how important you are to me,” Zayn pauses and Louis feels Harry’s grip on his wrist tightening as he whispers _He’s looking at Liam, he’s looking at Liam!_

It turns out Harry was right when Zayn speaks again, “Liam, thank you so much. I really love you.”

Liam’s eyes widen and he freezes in his spot when he hears a chorus of _aww_ from the crowd followed by laugher when Niall whoops loudly. Zayn looks back at the crowd and smiles as he thanks them one last time and hands the gallery owner the mic and makes his way off the stage.

“Louis?” Liam mumbles, “Zayn… did he just―”

“Tell everyone he loves you? Yes.” Louis pats Liam’s back and pushes him forward, nearly tripping him, when he spots Zayn coming their way. Zayn holds him by his shoulders to stop him from falling and Niall cackles when Liam blushes slightly.

Harry links his arm with Louis’ and remain quiet as Zayn and Liam stare at each other.

“Liam, I―”

“Did you really mean that?” Liam interrupts and Zayn smiles gently as he nods his head, looking down.

“I’m really sorry about last week. I was scared and I don’t know what was wrong with me. If you’re angry at me and you want me to fuck off, I understand and I deserve it―”

Liam cuts Zayn off by engulfing him in a tight hug, hiding his face against his neck. Zayn freezes and once he finally seems to be realising what just happened, he wraps his arms around Liam and pulls him closer.

Harry leans towards Louis and whispers directly into his ears, “I told you he was looking at Liam.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twitter: [sametolarry](https://twitter.com/sametolarry)  
> Twitter (personal): [oopshilouve](https://twitter.com/oopshilouve)
> 
> Thanks for reading ♡♡


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bumped my head really hard against the corner of my table last night and I've been having a horrible pain in my head and I can barely concentrate. I still haven't edited the last chapter and with this I honestly have no idea when I'll be able to :/ I'll try forcing myself to edit it and post it sometime in the next two days, but I'm not so sure about it.

It’s completely dark in the room when Louis flutters his eyes open. His eyes drop and he’s ready to fall back asleep when he hears Harry’s voice again. This time he blinks his eyes open, rubbing them slightly, realising it was Harry’s voice that woke him up the first time.

“Louis, wake up.” Harry whispers softly again and Louis grunts.

“I’m awake.” Louis mumbles, voice comes out all croaky yet still having that soft edge. He clears his throat, “What is it?”

“Close your eyes, I’m switching on the light.” Harry moves to switch on the bedside lamp on his side and Louis groans as he pulls the comforter over his head and hides his face. He hears the click of the light and then Harry’s poking his arm, “Louis, let’s go out.”

Louis removes the comforter and squints his eyes at the sudden brightness of the room. He blinks his eyes a few times, adjusting to the brightness, and Harry’s hair is a mess, his hair loose and sticking to different directions, yet he’s smiling brightly at him.

“Harry, it’s fucking five in the morning.”

“It’s the perfect timing.”

Louis moves, hiding his face against the pillow, and his voice comes out muffled, “Can you shut the fuck up and go to sleep?”

“Louis,” Harry whines, dropping an arm around him, “Let’s go to a market. It’s too early and there won’t be many people around and we’ll get to see the sunrise on our way over there.”

Maybe if he remains quiet and refuses to move Harry might change his mind and they’ll end up sleeping, Louis thinks. So he does that; he stays quiet, face still hidden against the pillow, and he hears Harry sighing.

“Louis, _please_?” Louis knows it’s deliberate. Harry knows that if he changes his tone, uses _that_ high, sweet, needy tone, Louis can’t refuse him.

Louis whines as he sits up in bed and shudders when the comforter falls. Harry’s still laying down, looking at Louis with wide, expectant eyes yet smirking knowing he’s already got his way.

“I want tea and you’re going to drive.”

Louis pulls his beanie down and drops his head against the window. The glass is cool against his face and his eyes start dropping again. It’s quiet in the car other than Harry’s quiet humming to any random song that comes up in his mind.

“Louis,” Louis moves in his seat and drops his head back against the seat, “Don’t fall asleep. I don’t want you to miss seeing the sunrise.”

Louis flutters his eyes open and forces himself to grab his tea, hoping it will wake him up. It takes him a few sips and then he’s fiddling with the radio, barely lasting a second on each radio station. Even though he knows he would be asleep in less than five minutes if he closes his eyes this moment, he’s much more awake now than he was just a few minutes ago.

“We’re really close, please don’t fall asleep now.” Harry says as he takes a turn. The road is empty and more of the soft sunrays makes its way inside the car. The dark neon blue sky of the night is slowly fading away, the sky getting brighter with the sun slowly peeking over the horizon.

There is some sort of beauty that comes with sunrise; the contrast of the colours and the colours emerging together and fading away. But he can’t really see much of its beauty when he’s got a much more beautiful sight sitting right next to him.

“I wasn’t going to sleep but since you don’t trust me to stay awake, I’m going to sleep.” Louis drops his head against the window again, shutting his eyes, and grins when Harry laughs.

“I’ve fallen in love with a five years old.” Harry says.

“I’m seven, I can’t believe you don’t know how old I am,” Louis mock offends and Harry stares at him once he parks the car.

“Are you really twenty two?” Louis laughs as he steps out of the car and Harry follows him.

Just like Harry had predicted, the market isn’t crowded and is nearly empty. It’s still too early until people start arriving so they take their time walking around. Harry points out the most ridiculous things that Louis wouldn’t even glance at and starts asking all sort of questions that he can come up with.

“Maybe we should get that for Liam.” Harry giggles once they pass by a store, pointing to a keychain with _ADONIS_ , the Greek god of beauty, written on it.

“I got him one similar to it last year as a fake Christmas gift. Maybe I should get him this since they’ve been together for a month now.”

Harry laughs as they continue walking around and it’s nice like this. They’re walking with their hands intertwined, with no fans coming up to him or just taking their pictures, and Louis is loving every minute of it. He might have been against the idea at first preferring to sleep in, but he’s glad he didn’t do that mistake.

Harry’s got wonderful ideas all the time and Louis briefly wonders how different his life would be without Harry. It would be dull, like a night sky with no stars, and Louis would have never experienced love. Harry’s the stars in his life lighting everything up for him. He’s the one that fills up so many pieces of him that he never realised he needed until he met him. His heart beats faster because what if it’s Harry who he always wished to be by his side, filling that spot longing for someone to be by his side all his life?

And Louis isn’t sure right now if Harry’s the one who’s he’s going to be sharing his forever with, and it’s weird to think out of all places Louis would have started thinking about this, it had to happen in the middle of a market next to an antique shop.

Harry stops in his tracks, snapping Louis out of his thoughts, and Louis notices the way his eyes widen with excitement.

“Louis, I’m going for a few minutes. Stay here, please.” Harry mumbles quietly and immediately leaves Louis with his thoughts before he gets the chance to speak.

Louis sighs as he watches Harry walk away towards one of the shops. He spots an organic shop and he grins when he sees the sign saying they’ve got new organic chocolate.

He buys one of them and keeps it in the pocket of his jumper. He can already picture Harry’s huge, proud grin when Louis gives him the chocolate and just thinking about it warms his heart.

“Lou!” Harry wraps his arms around Louis’ waist, pressing Louis’ back against his chest, and drops his head on top of his shoulder. He presses a kiss against Louis’ cheek, “What did you buy me?”

“Why would I buy you anything? I don’t like you. Get off me you giant.”

“Shut up, you _love_ me.” Harry presses one more kiss against his cheek and Louis pinches his arm softly.

“You just want my fantastic arse.” Louis retorts.

It emits a laugh from Harry and he removes his arms, hitting Louis’ chest when he turns around with no force, “It’s what made me fall in love with you.”

“Yeah? Well there’s nothing about you that made me fall in love you. I don’t like you.” Louis grins at the way Harry’s smiling, his dimples displaying and Louis pokes it.

“You love me.” Harry says, his voice steady and calm, and it makes Louis’ heart swell at how confident Harry was with his answer.

Harry links his arm with Louis’ and they take a few quiet steps and Louis remembers Harry leaving him a few minutes ago. He’s just about to ask him about it when Harry stops.

“Hi, Julie!” Harry greets the lady of the flower shop they’ve just stopped next to. She looks up when she hears her name and smiles at Harry as she pushes a strand of her blonde hair that has fallen out of her ponytail behind her ear.

She glimpses towards Louis and smiles gently when she speaks, “Now?”

Harry nods his head and she wipes her hand against her green apron, leaving the flowers she was arranging, and turns around. Louis raises his brows at Harry and he’s met with a grin.

When Julie turns back she’s holding a bouquet filled with bell-shaped red flowers with wiry stems. She hands Harry the bouquet and Louis still has no clue as in what’s happening. That’s until Harry meets his gaze and is giving him his entire attention as he holds the flowers forward. And yeah, Harry is giving him flowers. It’s not supposed to be cute and it’s _certainly_ not meant for Louis to get all flushed and shy about it. Except it does.

“For you. Bought them a few minutes ago and I was waiting for her to put the flowers together.” Harry simply says, happiness laced into his voice. Louis takes it, his hand brushing softly against Harry’s. He feels his cheeks heating up and he can’t stop himself from biting his lip and looking down when Harry steps forward and presses a kiss on top of his head.

“Do you know what they’re called?” Harry asks and Louis shakes his head as he looks up at him. He’s certain he’s blushing and it’s clearly visible, but he just smiles and wants to show Harry what he does to him.

“I know nothing about flowers.”

“They’re freesias. They’re red freesias.”

“Red freesias.” Louis repeats as he looks down at the bouquet.

“They reminded me of you. Freesias represent many things including being high-spirited, and that’s definitely you.” Harry chimes and Louis hears Julie’s _aww_ and his cheeks start heating up again. He knows there’s much more Harry’s got in his mind ready to blurt out, and Louis can handle Harry being a romantic sap, but he can’t handle it in public.

“Harry. There are people.” Louis mumbles quietly and Harry tilts his head to the side but then he’s smiling when he seems to be realising what Louis’s asking him to do.

“You want us to be alone?” Harry asks, too loudly for Louis’ liking, and he can hear Julie giggling as he pulls Harry away and Harry allows Louis to drag him away, thanking Julie as they walk away.

They weren’t that far away from one end of the market and he’s glad it’s still too early and nobody’s around them when he pulls Harry to sit by him on one of the benches. They’re still out in public and he can see the shops and the few people wandering around between the shops, yet this little spot is giving them the little privacy they want right now.

“They’re bell-shaped and you would think they’re tough with the way they look, but they’re still so delicate and soft,” Harry hums quietly, “Just like you. You act all tough but you’re so soft.”

Louis smacks Harry’s arm gently and Harry cackles. He’s smiling gently once he stops laughing and meets Louis’ eyes, “I didn’t buy these randomly. Other than being high-spirited, they represent thoughtfulness as well. And I thought by giving you these it would be a sort of promise.”

“A promise?”

“A promise that you’ll always get red freesias from you. And by giving you these you would know that you’re always in my thoughts. It will be a promise I’ll always love you and want you to be my side. You’ll always get red freesias from me and if I ever forget to buy them, you’ll still have our fate to believe in and know I’ll never leave. Because glancing at a complete stranger, getting inflated by them, then meeting again after a few years, and falling in love isn’t a coincidence. It’s fate.”

Louis’ throat tightens and he feels his eyes watering and the only thing he can do is wrap his arms around Harry and kiss him. He feels his heart swelling again, getting a new twist in his stomach, and he knows it’s because he’s certain now that Harry’s the one that’s filling up that spot in his heart.

Louis needs Harry as much as Harry needs him. He’s certain about it, but he knows he’ll only get the comfort of knowing he’s the one when he does one more thing.

~~

It happens in November.

Harry giggles and Louis tells him to shut up after what seemed to be his hundredth attempt to get Louis to spill out where they’re headed to.

“Tell me and I’ll pretend I had no idea when we reach there.” Harry pulls on his scarf and ties it into a neat large knot again and he’s left the first buttons of his patterned shirt unbuttoned, leaving the scarf to cover his chest.

“Might have considered that but then I remembered you’re shit at acting.” Harry whines as he drops his head against his seat.

He stops the car at a red light and glances towards Harry. He’s tilted his head, looking outside at nowhere in particular, and Louis knows he’s still trying to figure out where they’re headed. Harry looks back at him and smiles that smile that can get him anything from anyone with his dimples showing and his eyes focused on him.

“Lou, please?” Harry pleads and it’s difficult for Louis to turn him down, but he has to. He’s been planning this for a few weeks and he won’t let a grin from Harry to ruin it.

“Where’s the other scarf I told you to bring?” Louis asks instead and Harry pouts, but grabs it from where he had dropped it earlier on the seat, “Okay, cover your eyes. I don’t want you to know where we’re going.”

“Louuuuu,” Harry whines, “That’s not fair.”

“It is. I’ve been planning this for a long time, don’t ruin it.” Louis tells him and Harry starts mumbling how much he hates him as he ties it around his eyes.

Louis laughs at the way Harry scrunches up his nose at him once his eyes have been covered, “What if I’m scared of the dark?”

He taps his feet the entire time and constantly asks Louis if they’re close. Louis’ breath starts quickening once he parks the car and holds his breath when Harry speaks, “Are we there?”

“Y-yeah.” Louis stutters, “Don’t remove it yet and please don’t try getting out of the car, I don’t want you hurting yourself.”

He gets out of the car and quickly makes his way towards Harry’s side and helps him out of the car. Making their way from the car to the exact spot Louis wants them to be at turns out to be much more difficult than what Louis anticipated, especially when he realised they need to take the stairs as well. Harry ends up nearly tripping fifteen times and Louis decides it isn’t that bad.

“Don’t move and keep your eyes closed,” Louis stands behind Harry as he unties the scarf and lets out a long breath once he’s removed it and decides he’s ready, “Okay, open your eyes.”

Harry lets out a small chuckle when he opens his eyes and his voice is soft when he speaks, “Louis, this is where we first met.”

“Ten months ago you stood in this spot and told me you’re my new stylist.” Louis adds and Harry finally seems to realise Louis is behind him.

“Yeah―” Harry turns around and his breath hitches when his eyes fall on Louis kneeling down, holding a small black box, “Louis are you―”

“Harry,” Louis cuts him off and grins when Harry mumbles _Oh my god you are_ and claps his hand over his mouth his eyes already starting to tear up, “I’ve known you for ten months and I know it’s such a cliché thing to say, but it’s been the best ten months of my life. I don’t want to go on the rest of my life alone and I don’t want to be with anyone but you. I want to always be your side and I can promise you that no matter what may happen I’ll never leave you. I want to be with you as you fulfil all your dreams and wishes. And if you’re ever unsure about anything, I want you to know I’m always here for you. I want to spend my entire life with you because there is no other person I would want to have babies with other than you, and I know it’s the same for you.”

Harry let’s out a wet chuckle at that and rubs away the tears that had rolled down his face.

“Harry, will you marry me?”

His eyes are still full of tears as he nods his head with a wide smile, “Yes. Yes, of course.”

Harry wraps his arms around Louis as soon as he stands up and hides his face against his neck. Louis holds him closer and he’s never been this happy before. He’s giddy and torn between pressing kisses all over Harry’s face and crying because it’s actually happening; he and Harry will be getting married.

Harry moves his head back and his arms are still wrapped around Louis’ waist, their bodies pressing against each, close and warm and comforting.

Louis closes the space between their lips pulling Harry for a kiss. It’s quick and feverish, and enough to convey what they’re both feeling. It’s exciting and even though they’re both over the moon, they’re still tearing up at this step they’re taking together.

“You said yes.” Louis whispers quietly, afraid to break this comfortable silence.

Harry rubs his eyes, “You mentioned babies, of course I would.”

Louis chuckles softly and pecks his lips again softly, “Just want to marry me for babies?”

“No, I want to marry you because I love you and you love me. It’s that simple.” Harry mumbles as he rests his forehead against Louis.

Louis doesn’t need to speak for Harry to know it’s the same for him so instead he’s kissing him again and Harry leans into Louis’ soft touches against his back.

When he slips the ring on Harry’s finger, Harry starts tearing up again, and Louis doesn’t stop himself from tearing up this time.

Louis had been yearning to have someone to fill all the empty spots in his heart and just recently Louis realised he wants someone he has that same effect on him. And it’s finally in this moment that he finally feels as if his heart isn’t empty.

It took him 4329 days but Harry was worth the wait.

~~

Their wedding happens in February.

Harry had looked breath-taking that day, glowing with so much happiness and Louis couldn’t believe he was getting married to this beautiful, gorgeous boy.

Harry was a tad ridiculous when he spotted him before the ceremony. Their little conversation went something like this:

“ _Louis, lovely seeing you here in this wedding_.”

“ _You’re ridiculous this is our wedding_.”

“ _You look so handsome. I’ll catch the bouquet so we can get married next_.”

 _“Harry, we’re getting married today. This is our wedding_.”

“ _So if I catch the bouquet we’ll get married today? You really don’t want to wait_.”

Niall had been laughing the entire time but Louis had found it endearing when Harry had grinned and it calmed him.

Their mothers and Niall teared up the most when they exchanged their vows and Liam and Zayn had held each other’s hands nearly during the entire wedding. And nobody was supposed to throw a bouquet, but during the reception there was a slightly tipsy Gemma asking Harry about it a bit too loudly, which caused everyone to give encouraging cheers. Harry ended up throwing one and Niall was the one who caught it which led to Louis and Liam teasing Niall and Ed about getting married.

The day they got married ―the day Harry walked around proudly demanding everyone to call him a Tomlinson― will always be carved into his heart.

February twenty two. He’ll never forget that date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is the final and I just want to thank everyone who has taken the time to read Red Freesias, it means so much to me. Thank you so much for being wonderful. 
> 
> Twitter: [sametolarry](https://twitter.com/sametolarry)  
> Twitter (personal): [oopshilouve](https://twitter.com/oopshilouve)
> 
> Thanks for reading ♡♡
> 
> (now excuse me as I go to listen to Louis' soothing voice to help me with this terrible pain)


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't believe this is already the final chapter of Red Freesias. I hope you enjoy this short final chapter.
> 
> Thank you Caroline for all your help with the French words and terms in this chapter, and for listening to me and helping me with so many of the ideas I had while I was writing this fic. I love you so much.

Harry’s sleeping on his stomach and his skin is glowing; the sunrays making his skin seem golden and Louis runs a finger across his spine gently. He mumbles something incoherent his sleep, something very similar to _golden socks_ and Louis wonders what’s currently going in his mind.

He buries his face against the pillow further more when Louis continues softly tracing his back with his fingers. He sits up and the comforter pools around his waist and it occurs to Louis that it’s the only thing preventing him from seeing his husband in his naked glory and his perky bum. _His husband_. Louis’ eyes crinkle as he smiles; he still hasn’t gotten used to calling Harry his husband. Their wedding was just yesterday and even though they didn’t miss any chance to say _my husband_ or simply just _husband_ , it’s still making Louis’ heart skip a beat.

He presses a kiss between his shoulder blades, and Harry’s skin is all soft and warm. It wakes Harry up and he smiles lazily at Louis.

“Bonjour.” Harry mumbles and it comes out all slurry.

“Are you going to speak French the entire time here?” Louis pecks Harry’s lips and Harry shuts his eyes, smiling into the kiss.

“We’re in France, Lou. Can you believe that?” Harry’s voice is slower than usual and his eyes are still threatening to shut any moment now, but he’s so endearing looking much younger and sweet. Louis lays down again and pulls Harry to his chest as he starts playing with his hair. Harry hums and wraps his arms around Louis and starts to gently rub his hand against Louis’ back. His touches are warm and gentle, just like him.

“Can we not leave the hotel room today?” Louis asks when he feels his eyes dropping and Harry hums quietly again in agreement. He yawns and his breath is warm against Louis’ skin.

“J’ai faim.” Harry mumbles.

“Oii, I don’t speak French. When did you even learn French?” Louis asks as Harry moves back to face him.

“I’m hungry. And I just tried learning a few terms and words.” Harry says as he pushes the comforter slightly and sits up. He stretches his arms, his joints crack, and there’s a huge smile plastered across his face

“Aren’t you supposed to be younger than me?” Louis asks as he runs a finger across his spine and rests his hand at the small of his back.

Harry chuckles quietly and sighs when his gaze falls on their view from the window. The curtains are wide open and they can clearly see their balcony with a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower.

Being in the city of love Paris while having a clear, beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower from their hotel room, it all seems kind of cliché, but Louis doesn’t really care about that. It just one more reason for them to act all sappy and romantic during their honeymoon and no one can tell them a thing about it.

“Let’s have breakfast in the balcony.” Harry chimes when Louis sits up and wraps his arms around Harry’s waist. He presses a kiss on top of Harry’s shoulder and starts pressing lingering kisses all over his neck and jaw. Harry squirms when Louis presses against a mark on his waist he left the night before. Harry’s limp in his arms in an instant and whimpers softly when he pulls him closer, his back pressed against his chest.

“Are you still hungry?” Louis moves back slightly and Harry whines at the loss of contact.

“No, breakfast can wait.”

They do end up not leaving their hotel room that day.

~~

Their second day is much more different. They spend it sightseeing followed by a boat ride after lunch. It’s a small boat with just him, Harry, and the guide. Louis gets a twist in his stomach, feeling unease and getting jealous, and sends the guide death glares when he notices the guide’s stares at Harry and the way he seems to be ignoring the fact Louis’ got his arm dropped around Harry.

He pulls Harry closer, dropping him against him, and whispering in his ear, “I love you.”

Harry cups Louis’ face and pulls him in for a quick, feverish kiss that leaves them both breathless. When Louis looks back at the guide, he’s no longer staring at Harry and a little frown apparent on his face. He continues with his talking sometime later and somewhere along the way back he makes a ridiculous joke that leaves Harry chuckling softly. Louis starts wishing that he would slip and fall off the boat.

The next days are spent in a familiar matter of them going around the city and occasionally getting lost.

~~

“Life would be _unbearable_ without you.” Harry grins as he clutches the teddy bear closer to his chest.

“If I had known you would say this I wouldn’t have won you this teddy bear,” Louis says and Harry giggles, “Do you even know how long it took me to win this bear?”

“Yes, I also know that you eventually cheated.” Harry replies and Louis rolls his eyes.

Harry hums quietly, holding the teddy bear gently in his hands, looking at it with so much love in his eyes. And it’s just a teddy bear, but Harry nearly teared up when Louis won and handed him this teddy bear. It’s just a small and brown teddy bear yet Harry has been holding tightly since he got it, looking at it with so much fond.

“I can’t believe stubborn, persistent Louis Tomlinson played that game just so he can win me this teddy bear.” Harry mumbles and bumps into Louis’ side gently.

“I can’t believe it will just take a teddy bear to get in your pants.” Louis retorts and grins when Harry smirks.

“How are you so sure?” Harry tries seeming all smug with his smirk, but it doesn’t work with the way he smiles gently when Louis slips his arms around his waist, his joined hands resting at the bottom of his spine.

“I can get anything from you.” Louis whispers and kisses him once then twice. And he wants to continue kissing him and pressing kisses all over his neck but he can’t right now, not when they’re on a lift taking them to the top of the Eiffel Tower and there are other people with them.

The lift stops, pulling them out of their trance, and Harry turns around, stepping out, and Louis’s just behind him. It’s a breath-taking view at the top and he understands now why Harry told him to come here at night. The entire city is lit up by the nightlights and there is something beautiful about the scene that Louis can’t really point out.

He wraps his arms around Harry again, this time his chest pressing against his back, as he rests his head on top of his shoulder. He moves his head slightly to look at Harry and at the way his eyes are glowing and he’s smiling with so much joy looking at the sight.

“It’s such a beautiful view, Lou.” Harry whispers and Louis smiles gently.

“I know, it’s really beautiful.”

“Louis, you’re not looking. You’re looking at me―”

“Exactly.” Louis doesn’t miss seeing the way Harry’s smile widens and he presses a kiss right against his dimple. Harry intertwines their hands and they remain like that.

“Excuse me,” Louis looks back when he hears that and there’s a girl, playing slightly with the tips of her black hair as she speaks, “I’m sorry for disturbing you, but me and my friend were in the same lift as you two and you two were just really cute and yeah… umm, yeah, you were really cute.”

Louis chuckles gently and smiles, “Thank you.”

“He’s cute isn’t he?” Harry says as he moves to stand by Louis and Louis tells him to shut up.

The girl giggles softly, “You both are. And I really hope you don’t mind, but just a few moments ago I saw you two and it looked like it would be a really beautiful picture so I took two photos for you.”

Her cheeks are slightly pink as she hands Louis the two polaroid photos. Louis smiles gently at the two pictures of them just a few moments ago, Louis’ arms wrapped around Harry, and they’re both smiling to each other.

“That’s very sweet of you. Thank you so much.” Harry thanks her as he looks up from the photos and she blushes even more when Louis thanks her as well.

She leaves them after that and Harry bumps into Louis’ side again, “That was very sweet of her.”

“I know.”

Louis keeps one of the photos with him while Harry keeps the other. When they get back to their hotel that night, Louis he checks his Twitter and sees that the girl had posted a picture of them in the lift laughing and another one similar to the two photos she handed them both with the caption of “ _Cutest couple I’ve ever seen!_ ” It didn’t go unnoticed to his fans and he laughs at the girl’s Tweet after knowing who he is:

“ _I DIDN’T KNOW HE IS AN ACTOR AND IT IS THEIR HONEYMOON!!!!_ ”

Louis feels his eyes dropping as he hands Harry his phone, “Look.”

He drops himself on the bed and buries his face into the pillow. He sighs and he can already feel himself drifting to sleep. He moves a bit after realising Harry hasn’t moved yet and when he looks back he sees Harry staring at him with gentle eyes and a bright smile.

“Stop staring and go to sleep,” Louis mumbles which only lets Harry grin and places a kiss against his cheek, “I said go to sleep, not kiss me.”

“As if you would say no to my kisses.” Harry switches off the lights and Louis turns around, laying on his back, as he watches Harry untie his hair and then runs his hand through his hair a few times.

“Rapunzel, come here.” Louis mumbles and he was expecting Harry to lay down next to him, but instead he’s on top of Louis, straddling him, and pressing a kiss to his nose.

“Tu es courageux et petit.” Harry yelps when Louis tickles his side and he falls on top of him.

“I’m not small.” Louis says and Harry pouts as he straddles him again.

“You don’t even know what I said.”

“It had petit, so I guessed.”

“I said you’re courageous and petit. And it’s true, you’re so, so small―” Harry gets cut off by Louis as he starts tickling him again and he’s laughing when he falls on top of him again and Louis intertwines their legs, holding him, and not letting him move away.

“I’m not small. You’re a giant.” Louis stops tickling him and Harry hums.

“But you’re smaller than Zayn and Liam. And even though you and Niall are around the same height, you still are much smaller.”

“That’s because you’re all overgrown.”

He hears Harry sighing but then he’s pressing a kiss against his nose again, “Fine. But anyway, I love you the way you are and wouldn’t want it to be any other way.”

Louis pulls him down for another kiss and then Harry’s smiling, “Je suis fatigué.”

“When did you have time to learn all of this?” Louis asks as Harry pecks his lips again.

“It means I’m tired,” Harry says as Louis runs a hand though his hair, pushing his curls back, and playing with the tips, “You haven’t said anything in French the entire time we’ve been here.”

Louis smiles as he pulls softly at the curls at the back of his neck when Harry hides his face against Louis’ neck, “Tu es magnifique.”

Harry whines softly when Louis tugs softly at his hair, “I’m not as beautiful as you. And fuck, you sound really hot.”

“Je t’aime.” Louis hums when Harry whines louder this time.

“I please love you too but stop.”

Louis chuckles, “Awh, are you getting all flustered because of me speaking French?”

“Shut up.” Harry mumbles.

Louis smirks as he pulls Harry closer and whispers into his ears, “J'adore tes cheveux.”

“ _Louis_ ,” Harry moves backwards to face Louis again, “I have no idea what that meant but you sound really hot and―”

Louis cuts Harry off by connecting their lips and Harry’s just so willing, and he swiftly turns them around, and he’s on top of him now. He parts his mouth, deepening the kiss, and when they part to catch their breaths, he hears Harry’s shaky exhales when Louis places quick kisses against his collarbone and sucks on a spot.

“I love your hair, that’s what I said before.” Louis whispers between the kisses.

“L―Louis,” Harry stutters when Louis sucks on another spot, “Please.”

He doesn’t waste a second and swiftly pulls Harry’s shirt off. Harry whines when Louis starts trailing kisses downwards until he reaches his boxer brief and starts pulling it off.

“ _Louis_.” Louis looks up at Harry and he’s so beautiful with his hair all loose and his cheeks flushed matching his lips. He raises his brows when Harry whines again but then he’s making grabby hands at him and Louis lifts himself and bops Harry’s nose.

“What do you need, baby?”

“You, but first a kiss.”

Louis can’t stop himself from smiling fondly at him but then he’s leaning down and reconnecting their lips. Harry’s arms are around him, sneaking up underneath his shirt to touch his back, and he’s so gentle and warm. He moans softly when Louis presses himself downwards. Harry’s eyes are glossy, his cheeks still a tint of pink, and he’s smiling at Louis when he pulls back and Louis’ breath hitches.

He’s still having a hard time grasping all of this, how Harry loves him, and has married him. He doesn’t know what it is exactly that causes him to do it, but he blurts it out quickly, “Marry me.”

Harry chuckles softly, “We’re already married, Lou. You want to marry me again?”

Louis nods his head as a he laughs and a grin makes its way across his face, “If I could I would.”

~~

Harry sighs as he switches on the lights of their room and his eyes fall on their bed.

“Finally home,” Louis shouts and drops himself on top of their bed and sighs when he buries his face against his pillow, “come and sleep.”

Harry drops himself next to Louis and presses a kiss on top of his head. They remain like that for a few seconds until Louis realises they’re still wearing the clothes they had hurriedly put on before they left the hotel and headed to the airport.

“Harry?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m too tired to take my clothes off.” Louis says as he nudges him and Harry hums quietly.

“Too bad for you.”

“ _Harry_ ,” Louis whines, “take my clothes off.”

“I’m too tired,” Harry whines but he sits up in bed and then he’s patting Louis’ arms, “turn around.”

“I’m too tired to move,” Louis whines as he turns around and pouts at Harry once he’s lying on his back, “that took all of my energy.”

Harry rolls his eyes and pecks Louis’ lips, “Stop pouting.”

When he starts pulling Louis’ sweatpants, Louis starts kicking his legs against the bed, making it more difficult for Harry to take it off, and starts laughing when Harry glares at him and pinches his thighs.

“I thought you didn’t have any energy left?” Harry raises his brows and Louis grins as he drops his legs back.

He lifts his arms when Harry pulls on his shirt and easily removes it, dropping it somewhere on the floor with his sweatpants and Louis nearly kicks him when he starts tickling him.

“I hate you.” Louis mumbles as he hides his face against his pillow again, ready to fall asleep.

“You love me and I love you.” Harry singsongs as he quickly takes of his shirt and pants, and drops himself next to Louis.

“I hate you but you love me.” Louis moves and pulls Harry close to his chest and presses a kiss on top of his head.

“Then why did you marry me?” Harry mumbles already on the verge of sleeping again.

“I’ll think about that after our nap,” Louis feels his eyes dropping but Harry starts whining loudly, “fine. I love you, I love you, I love you. You’re so needy. Now go to sleep.”

“Okay.” He can hear the smile in his voice and Louis rolls his eyes but he buries his nose against Harry’s curls.

“I love you.” He whispers quietly and ends up sleeping shortly afterwards.

~~

It’s the loud ringing of his phone that wakes them up two hours later. Louis groans as he grabs his phone and nearly drops it.

“Who is it?” Harry asks, his voice comes out all croaky and he clears his throat.

Louis answers his phone instead, “You should be fucking Zayn not calling me.”

“I missed you too, Louis.” Liam chimes and Louis is ready to tell him to shut up when Harry grabs his phone from him and puts it on speaker.

“Liam! How are you?” Harry beams and Louis raises his brows at him.

“Louis should learn from you―”

“Yeah, sure. Where’s Lucie? Is she okay? I’ve missed her.” Louis laughs when he hears Liam sighing.

“She’s alright. You two could have at least pretended to miss me.” Liam whines and Louis can hear some distinct voices coming, something close to a loud cackle ―Niall’s loud cackle.

“What’s Niall doing?” Louis asks as he rubs his eyes.

“Niall’s playing with Lucie,” Liam pauses, “but I called since I wanted to tell you two that we’re coming over in an hour since we’ve missed you two. Actually, they missed you two I just missed Harry.”

Harry laughs and Louis smirks, “Liam, do you know what I’m doing right now?”

“You’re flipping me off, aren’t you?”

“You guessed correctly.” Liam laughs and Louis grins when Harry shakes his head and gets out of bed.

~~

Louis wakes up the next morning in an empty bed. He frowns when he moves towards Harry’s side of the bed and finds it to be cold. It rules out the possibility that he had gone for a wee and he sighs quietly. He had been hoping to wake up next to Harry and to do nothing since it’s Harry’s final day of his spring break and Louis’ rehearsals for his new play starts tomorrow.

He gets out of bed a few minutes later when he realises it’s futile for him to try going back to sleep while knowing Harry is awake and is probably downstairs. He shudders when he leaves room and his feet are freezing against the cold floor and he finds himself going back to grab a pair of socks, tucking the end of his sweatpants into his socks.

Last night they had stayed up late and when Niall ended dozing off on their sofa with Lucie sleeping on top of him, they called it a night and told Zayn and Liam to sleep in their guest room since they both seemed too tired to drive. And he hopes they’re still asleep as he makes his way downstairs so he can spend a few minutes alone with Harry.

He finds Harry humming quietly in the kitchen and Louis can smell the pancakes he’s making. Louis remains quiet, listening to Harry’s humming, as he flips the pancake. He runs a hand through his messy hair and Louis bites his lips as he slowly and quietly walks towards Harry. He laughs when he wraps his arms around Harry, startling him, and making him nearly drop the pancake he had been trying to place on the plate.

“Louis, be nice.” Harry whines as he places the pancake on the plate and Louis chuckles as he rests his head on his shoulder, which leads to his arms wrapping around Harry’s waist and a kiss pressed against his neck.

“I’m nice.” Louis mumbles as Harry turns around and pecks his lips.

“Are they still asleep?” Harry’s eyes are glinting with so much excitement and Louis raises his brows.

“They are and why are you so excited?” Louis is met with a chuckle and then Harry’s hugging him tightly.

“I have something for you. I thought you had noticed it when you entered the kitchen.” Louis frowns and Harry grins.

He holds his hands, his hands engulfing Louis’ tiny hand, and he presses a kiss against his nose, “Did you look towards the table?”

Louis turns his head and when his gaze falls on the table his breath hitches. He blinks his eyes a few times and when he smiles gently at the huge bouquet of red freesias resting on the table, Harry giggles softly.

He looks back at him and shakes his head. He kisses him but he can’t stop himself from smiling, “You’re unbelievable.”

He pulls Louis for a hug, wrapping his arms around him, and resting his head on top of Louis’ shoulder when Louis presses a kiss against his shoulder, and then he whispers quietly into his ears, “I promised you you’ll always get red freesias.”

 

It’s quite unbelievable to think that he only met Harry just a bit over a year ago. He had been different back then. He still wasn’t true to himself, still confused, and still wanting to meet the person his heart had been longing to have next to him. And Harry changed all of that.

He's the desire of a lifetime and a feeling greater than all words.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! :)  
> Thank you for everyone who has taken the time to read Red Freesias. If you've stayed until the end, then thank you. All the views and feedback I've received from this fic has honestly blown my mind. This was something I started writing when I had lost all motivation to write and was being all moody when it came to writing, and I think it shows in certain parts of this fic, and this is why I'm still having a hard time believing there are people enjoying this fic. Thank you so, so much for reading. I love every single one of you.
> 
> Twitter: [sametolarry](https://twitter.com/sametolarry)  
> Twitter (personal): [oopshilouve](https://twitter.com/oopshilouve)
> 
> Thanks for reading ♡♡


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